It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 812 abandons traditional casting and adopts national online voting... Ali's ambition!

In the blink of an eye, July 7th has arrived quietly.

At this point, the competition for the summer vacation season has officially entered a fierce stage!
"The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain", "Sicario", "Tiny Times 4: The Soul's End", and "Gardenia Blossoms", a total of four popular domestic films have entered the head-on competition.

After a new day of filming, Chen Fei paid special attention to the final episode of Guo Mingming's "Tiny Times".

Although there are many negative reviews online, there are also many positive reviews.

Moreover, as a fan-oriented movie, its box office advantage was maintained in the previous week, which was the craziest time for fans!
The box office on the first day was 1.06 million, which was its achievement.

A group of fans started shouting online again, saying that "Tiny Times 4" will definitely break 10 billion+ and will definitely create a new box office miracle...

Chen Fei wanted to laugh when he saw this.

"How about breaking 10 billion? Let's try to break 5 million first."

So far, "Sicario" is still leading the summer blockbuster.

The film has been released for a week, but the total box office has reached 4.39 million, and the daily increase in box office is still maintained at around 5000 million.

As for "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain", the new box office revenue on the latest day was 1435 million.

Compared to the "luxurious" lineup of directors, actors and investors, this profit couldn't be worse!

What’s more important is that there are so many negative reviews online.

It is no exaggeration to say that this movie is comparable to "The Promise"!
As Gardenia Blossoms has just been released, there are no reviews on the Internet yet, so Chen Fei is not sure about its performance and quality.

If nothing unexpected happens, there should be news coming out by the afternoon.

……

After a quick wash and asking the front desk for a meal, Chen Fei ate dinner while watching the live broadcast.

The scale of Alibaba Pictures’ TV and film project launch conference was very grand. Not only did it invite many top artists in the industry, it also pushed this event to an unprecedented height through live broadcasts across the entire network and multiple platforms!
In fact, in Chen Fei's eyes, all this seemed so exaggerated and unnecessary.

Instead of wasting money on such extravagant publicity, it would be better to invest more resources and energy into the production of the film.

However, since they made it so grand, I think they must have other intentions.

At the press conference, as the camera slowly swept across, familiar faces came into view - popular artists, top filmmakers, executives or CEOs of major companies. They were either chatting and laughing, or looking solemn, together forming a star-studded picture!

On the stage, Zhang Qi, the head of Alibaba Pictures, was imitating Ma Yun and trying his best to deceive people:
"We know from big data analysis that the movie version of Eternal Love has a potential box office of at least 20 billion yuan, and once the TV series is released, it will surely break the ratings and click-through rates of all previous fairy-tale dramas and take first place...

Next, I will announce the details of the project establishment, casting, and filming and production team arrangements for the film and TV series."

Zhang Qi's voice is sonorous and powerful, full of love for movies and expectations for the future!

As soon as he finished speaking, a carefully designed PPT slowly unfolded on the big screen.

The first thing that caught everyone's eye was the name of the producer - Zhang Yibai.

"Zhang Yibai has won wide acclaim in the industry for his outstanding directing talent and rich experience. His role as the producer of Eternal Love will surely lay a solid foundation for the success of this film..."

Then, Zhang Qi introduced the film's co-director team: "Hollywood director Anthony LaMolinara and the talented director Zhao Xiaoding will jointly direct the film. They each have their own unique directing style and distinctive features. This cooperation will surely inject new vitality and creativity into the film..."

As Zhang Qi introduced, directors including Zhang Yibai and Anthony LaMolinara came up from the backstage one by one.

Their arrival immediately caused a warm response from the audience. The actors below stood up and applauded, and the cheers were one after another!

"Sister Yang Ying, who are these people? Why haven't I seen them before? They look so strange."

Zhou Dongyu pretended to be "ignorant" and looked at Yang Ying who was sitting next to him with great curiosity.

However, Yang Ying’s eyes were wide open at this moment, full of confusion.

Obviously, she was also a little "uninformed".

Huang Xiaoming was the most knowledgeable among the group. He slowly spoke up to help his girlfriend out of the embarrassment and also cleared up Zhou Dongyu's confusion:
"Zhang Yibai graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. He shot the Olympic theme song "You and Me" and last year's "Fleeting Time" was also his work.

Anthony LaMolinara is an American director and screenwriter. He is also the winner of the 77th Academy Award for Best Special Effects Director. He is known as a Hollywood film master. The special effects of "Spider-Man" were created by him.

As for director Zhao Xiaoding, he once worked with Zhang Yimou on the promotional film for the Beijing Olympic bid, "New BJ, New Olympics", and was also the cinematographer for "House of Flying Daggers", "Curse of the Golden Flower", and "Three Shots Surprise"..."

As Huang Xiaoming continued to talk, both of them couldn't help but widen their eyes!

Such a luxurious production team clearly proves that "Eternal Love" is one of the top resources in the industry!
On the stage, Zhang Qi was still talking about his PPT:

"We will not use the traditional casting method..."

His voice was firm and powerful, as if carrying an unquestionable authority.

This sentence immediately attracted the attention of all the actresses present. They all pricked up their ears, afraid of missing any word.

Zhang Qi continued, “After the press conference, we will send a large number of staff to conduct offline research and interviews with book fans in order to gain a deeper understanding of the characters and the audience’s needs.

Starting from the 15th of this month, we will hold a 20-day nationwide online voting, allowing the audience and fans to directly participate in the selection of the male and female protagonists..."

This news undoubtedly made the actors on the scene feel both excited and nervous.

They understand that this means they will have a chance to win that coveted leading lady role through the support and recognition of their fans.

At the same time, this will also be an unprecedented challenge, because they will face competition from all over the country and even the world!
Zhang Qi's words were full of encouragement and expectations for the actors. He particularly emphasized: "No matter what the final result is, participating in this competition process itself is a kind of growth and gain. What we value most is the actors' talent and understanding of the role, not just the actors' fame or number of fans..."

As the speech progressed, the atmosphere became more and more heated.

The actors have expressed their support for this new casting method and look forward to showing their strength and charm in the process.

You know, who among you here is not very popular?

Anyone who is cowardly is not recognizing the appeal of his own fans, and also not recognizing himself!

Therefore, no one will show a "cowardly" attitude.

Finally, Zhang Qi once again emphasized the fairness of online voting: "During the entire voting process, we will have a dedicated Internet team to monitor the entire process to ensure that every vote is authentic and valid.

Here, I can promise everyone that we will give the greatest support and respect to the leading actor who is finally selected fairly and impartially, because this is the common choice of the public, moviegoers and fans.

And Alibaba has always been user-centric!

There will be two voting channels for the film and TV series versions. We prefer that the two heroines and the hero are not the same person, so we hope that the majority of netizens will make the best choice during the voting process and cast your precious vote..."

On the stage, Zhang Qiong was talking incessantly, while in the audience, there was constant discussion.

"Mi Mi, this time it's time to compete for popularity and national recognition."

Listening to Zeng Jia's words, Yang Mi nodded silently.

However, she soon thought of another thing: "Why didn't I see Liu Yifei at the venue? Could it be that... she is not going to participate?"

"I do not know!"

Zeng Jia also looked confused. According to the information she had heard, Ali had been in contact with Liu Yifei.

But today, there was suddenly a vote for the female lead. Could it be that the two sides failed to reach an agreement?

……

With the heated discussions and excitement at the press conference, the project launch conference of "Eternal Love" officially ended.

With the successful conclusion of the project launch conference, this big IP naturally became the focus of everyone's attention, dominating the headlines of film and television entertainment and hot searches on Weibo.

Fans of the original novel were extremely excited and expressed their anticipation and love for the film and television adaptation of the novel on social media.

The film and television industry peers were also attracted by its production quality and subject matter, and they praised it highly and began to plan for the upcoming online voting. For a time, a large number of press releases and posts emerged like mushrooms after rain.

All of these posts and press releases are aimed at promoting various actors and stars, comparing them with the characters in Eternal Love, with the intention of labeling them and taking advantage of the popularity.

The actresses' teams, in particular, tried their best to match their artists with the heroines in the movies, from personality, appearance to temperament... all of which showed their desire and passion for the roles.

Chen Fei witnessed the entire process of the press conference and couldn't help but marvel at the operation of Alibaba Pictures.

I never expected that they were actually preparing and producing film and television dramas according to the production model they had been promoting before.

This time, the actors no longer just need to please the directors and producers, but also need to please the vast number of netizens and fans.

Because in this era, the audience's voice and choices are becoming more and more important, they can even directly affect the success or failure of a movie or TV series!

Jiang Xueru called as soon as possible.

"Director Chen, should we follow Alibaba's example and hold a nationwide online poll?"

Hearing this question, Fade Chen couldn't help but smile and asked, "Do you have a suitable candidate in mind now?"

"Yes!" Jiang Xuerou responded without thinking, "I think Zhao Liying is pretty good. The previous drama "The Journey of Flower" has accumulated a very high national recognition and popularity for her, which can be brought to "Princess Agents".

Moreover, she is one of our own people. After choosing her, it can be regarded as keeping the benefits within the family.”

Chen Fei shrugged. "That's right, isn't it? Since we already have the right candidates, why should we waste time, energy, and resources on an online poll?"

“Isn’t this hot?”

Fade Chen laughed: "The popularity is great, but it also brings pressure and doubts. If the quality of the film produced is not good enough, it will backfire!"

To be honest, he was not very optimistic about Ali's production team.

Zhao Xiaoding and Anthony LaMolinara are indeed top talents in the industry, but they have never been in the position of director before.

As for Zhang Yibai, although he has been a director, he is not a big director.

He is fine for making TV series, but if he wants to handle a movie like "Eternal Love" which has a top production team, I'm afraid he doesn't have enough experience.

As for what the final film will be like, Chen Fei already has a rough guess.

It's nothing more than a neither Chinese nor Western movie. It can only make some money with the support of fans. It is probably similar to the nature of "Tiny Times".

"Okay, Director Chen, I understand."

Jiang Xue rubbed her lips and responded belatedly, then hung up the phone.

……

There was nothing else interesting to watch on the Internet except the news about "Eternal Love", so Chen Fei simply packed up and prepared to go to bed.

It's already past one in the morning here in the UK. If we don't go to sleep now, we won't be able to shoot the scene tomorrow morning.

However, after lying down on the bed, he still took a few minutes to read the film reviews of "Gardenia Blossoms".

As expected, it is still a work with mixed reviews.

People who like it say that it writes about the regrets of youth, but people who don’t like it think that it is just a movie that makes money from traffic, consumes feelings and IP.

In Chen Fei's opinion, the only thing worth praising about this movie is that it does not contain any abortion plot!

"Fuck, when did this start? My expectations for teen movies have actually dropped."

After secretly complaining, Fade Chen turned off his phone and fell asleep.

At this time, a discussion against him was ongoing in the country.

"I think Feiyue Films' participation is completely optional. We, the investors present here, are enough. We already have everything from production to publicity and distribution to theaters. Why should we invite him?"

"Because Feiyue Films represents 'quality', any film project they participate in will, without exception, gain the trust and support of fans!"

"Isn't it enough to win the audience's trust by relying on Zhou Xingchi and Journey to the West, a big IP?"

"But after joining Feiyue Films, there will be obviously better results, and we can also gain the support of Pan-Asia Cinemas, which is one of the key points."

"I think what Mr. Ye said makes sense."

"I agree."

“If we talk about Pan-Asian Cinemas…it is indeed a good channel.”

The conference room soon fell silent, and everyone turned their eyes to La Peikang, who was sitting in the main seat.

After all, China Film Group is the leading party in this project, and it also has the greatest voice.

As for Zhou Xingchi, who was also sitting in the conference room, although he was confirmed to appear as a screenwriter, producer, and supervisor, he did not have much say.

In fact, even if he is a director, for him, as long as he can ensure that his own interests are not affected, everything else is easy.

Otherwise, how could Wang Zhonglei appear here today?

Facing the attention of the crowd, La Peikang did not think too much and nodded directly in response: "Chen Fei is in the UK now, right? Then ask him to participate in the video conference and listen to his opinions.

The participation of Feiyue Film and Television will definitely bring more benefits than disadvantages, there is no doubt about that.”

Hearing this, Ye Ning showed a faint smile on his face, while Wang Zhonglei and Zhang Qi looked at each other, and some dissatisfaction emerged in their hearts.

Both companies regard Feiyue Films as their rival, and now they are going to give up a share of the profits that are about to be obtained for no reason, so they are naturally a little unhappy.

But they couldn't win over La Peikang. After all, China Film Group was the dominant party, and Huayi and Alibaba were latecomers.

……

In the morning, as soon as Chen Fei got up, he received a call from La Peikang.

Hearing the words "many giants in the industry", "Journey to the West big IP", "Stephen Chow series" and so on coming from the other end of the phone, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

I have to say, the entertainment industry is really magical.

It's really interesting that the two parties who had never had any contact with each other in the past can now sit at the same negotiation table again because of their interests!

"The meeting is tomorrow morning, local time, right? OK, no problem on my end, I will participate via video then."

The time La Peikang mentioned was exactly the time when Chen Fei was going to the airport to pick up Liu Yifei, so it would be possible for him to attend a video conference at that time.

"You can prepare your speech in advance. The shares of China Film, Star and Wanda have been determined. We will take 50%, and the remaining 50% will be bid by you, Huayi and Wanda. This is the key..."

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Chen Fei agreed casually, but he had no intention of grabbing the share in his heart.

Written by Stephen Chow, directed by Xu Ke, a series on Journey to the West... He is very familiar with this project, so what is there to grab?

When the time comes, just go and join in the fun, as a way of giving face to La Peikang.

After hanging up the phone, Fade Chen was about to put his phone in his pocket when he saw a pop-up message on Weibo.

"This morning, Brother Chen Kai officially accepted the appointment letter from Magic City University. He will serve as the dean of its Film Academy and will develop a film talent training program for the school and write teaching materials..."

Chen Fei raised his eyebrows, as if he had already seen the scene of the daily new box office of "The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain" ushering in another wave of increase tomorrow.

……

(ps: First update, please vote for me!!!)
(End of this chapter)