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

Chapter 899 "Companies are all idiots!"

After receiving Su Guohai's call, Chen Fei immediately turned his attention to Weibo.

After quickly clicking and searching for "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", he saw that the official Weibo was broadcasting live.

When he clicked on it and took a look, a look of slight astonishment suddenly appeared on his face!

In the video, the producer of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" was kneeling on the ground, excitedly telling the live camera about his difficulties:
"For this film, in order to fulfill Director Wu Tianming's wish, we persevered for four years before finally bringing it to theaters.

The distribution department at Xiying told us that the theater chain was not optimistic about this movie, so the later screening schedule would definitely not be very good, but I didn't expect that the screening schedule would be so small!
Here, I beg everyone to give this movie some more screenings. It is really a good movie and it should not be buried like this!

I also hope that friends who are currently watching the live broadcast can forward this movie on Weibo, Tieba and other platforms. I would like to thank everyone here..."

The move of "begging for screening" really shocked Chen Fei.

You know, there are tens of thousands of people watching here, including many insiders from the film and television industry.

Under such circumstances, the producer of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" suddenly knelt down and begged for screening. This had an extraordinary impact!
After all, the saying "A man's knees are made of gold" has a very important position in Chinese culture.

Fang Li's kneeling was undoubtedly a groundbreaking act for the entire film and television industry!

The live broadcast was quickly cut off, but heated discussions online surged.

"Kneeling and begging for a screening? Isn't this a bit too much?"

"Although he does look quite pitiful, cinemas are primarily for commercial purposes! If they want to schedule a film without the blessing of commercial attributes, isn't this act of kneeling morally blackmailing?"

"I did go see this movie, and it's really well made, but this kind of art film is a niche film, so how could it possibly be popular in theaters?"

"Captain America: Civil War is being screened right now. Which theater chain would be so kind as to schedule a screening for it?"

"I did notice that the 'New Renaissance' plan under the Pan-Asia Cinema Line has included this film in the screening list, but the screening of this channel does not count towards the actual box office. At most, it can only be considered as support."

This incident caused quite a stir and even spread to Hong Kong.

Huo Qigang called and said in embarrassment: "Mr. Chen, many people in the industry and netizens have already called on the cinema chain. Do you think we should do something? Or..."

Chen Fei had been following the developments on the Internet and naturally noticed this situation.

Since the live broadcast was cut off, Zhang Yimou, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Li An, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kaige, He Ping, Huang Jianxin, Xu Ke and others all jumped out to cheer for the film.

But on the other hand, there was no movement from the cinema chain.

After all, this is the peak time for commercial film releases. Blockbusters like "Captain America 3", "Chasing the Dragon" and "The Jungle Book" are all in theaters and are making a fortune every day.

If we allocate some screening time for "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", wouldn't that be equivalent to throwing money away?
But sometimes we can't be so materialistic. After all, as the old saying goes, you have to give to gain.

Maybe what you lose now can be recovered somewhere in the future?

Thinking of this, Chen Fei simply said, "Let's make a statement. Pan Asia Cinemas can support "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" and give it a certain amount of screenings. Just treat it as a role model."

"How much?"

"Give 10% first, or don't give it at all. If you want to give it, don't be too stingy. Try to let the audience have the opportunity to watch the movie at all times, and then reduce it as appropriate later."

"Okay, I see."

After hanging up the phone, Huo Qigang went to make arrangements immediately.

After a while, there was a public announcement on Weibo:
"'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' is a sincere work by Director Wu Tianming. Pan Asia Cinemas is deeply moved. After consultation between Directors Chen and Huo, it has been decided that the film's screening data will be increased as appropriate from now on to show its support!"

As soon as the announcement from Pan Asia Cinemas came out, it immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Seeing this opportunity, other theaters naturally felt embarrassed to continue pretending to be "dead" and responded one after another.

“Wanda Cinemas will also provide support.”

"China Film Group will definitely give its full support!"

“UME Cinemas support!”

"Anle Cinemas will not sit idly by..."

"Huayi Cinemas is already adjusting its film schedule..."

"New Film Association..."

"Bona..."

In just a few hours, almost all the theater chains, big and small, in the country came out and expressed their strong support for "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix".

For a moment, there was cheering on the Internet.

Netizens were all very enthusiastic, and they all excitedly expressed that they would go to major cinemas tomorrow to buy tickets to show their support, and not let such a good movie be forgotten.

China Film.

"Boss La, what about me making arrangements now? Ask the cinema to start scheduling more films?"

Listening to the secretary's words, La Peikang said without even looking up, "Just give a little symbolically. Cinemas are commercial after all. We can just shout slogans. If we really increase the number of films, where will the benefits come from?"

The secretary was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting La Peikang to say that.

But he quickly reacted and nodded, "Okay, I understand. I'll contact the theater right away."

Since it is symbolic, it is naturally around 1%. If it is higher, it will affect other movies.

The same scene also happened in other theater chains.

Promises are one thing, but actions are another.

After all, cinema chains have strong commercial attributes, and the premise of supporting them is that they do not harm their own interests.

……

In the evening, Chen Fei personally went to support the box office of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix".

There is also a Pan Asia Cinemas in Hengdian. He called the person in charge, booked a show directly, and brought all the crew members of "La La Land" over.

In fact, "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" is just like the previous movie "Face-Off" directed by Wu Tianming, both of which tell the story of the rise and fall of "folk art".

The movie shows too much sadness and helplessness.

As the plot develops to the end, it presents a scene that is full of emotion.

The Wushuang Town in the film was once a place where suona art flourished. However, with the passage of time, this traditional art gradually declined.

The picture focuses on an elderly man who sits alone on the roadside, holding a suona tightly in his hand and playing it affectionately.

That melodious tune contains both the recollection of past glory and the helpless sigh towards the reality.

There is a teacup in front of the old man. Occasionally, passers-by are moved by this persistent art and will stop and drop a coin into the teacup to show their respect for the old man and their remembrance of art.

However, this meager income is obviously not enough to support the old man to continue passing on this art.

With the rapid development of society, new forms of entertainment emerge one after another, and traditional suona art is gradually marginalized.

Those artists who once loved and were committed to passing on the art of suona have either moved away or are no longer able to play it.

When officials from the Cultural Bureau learned of this, they rushed to Wushuang Town, hoping to apply for the suona art to be listed as an intangible cultural heritage in order to save its endangered fate... But unfortunately, they found that the artists who could play the suona were no longer in the town. Even if they found them, some of them could no longer continue to play due to old age or other reasons.

This scene is undoubtedly a profound revelation of the dilemma of traditional cultural inheritance.

In the tide of modernization, traditional arts that carry profound historical and cultural heritage are facing the crisis of being forgotten and disappearing.

The lonely figure of the old man and the fragmented sad melody all touched the hearts of the viewers. While lamenting the ruthlessness of time, they also reflected on how to better protect and inherit these precious cultural heritages.

"This movie is so well made. After watching it, I felt sad, as if there was something I wanted to grab but couldn't."

Listening to Miss Liu's words, Fade Chen echoed softly: "While making progress, we do need to be protected."

……

After a night, it was the next morning.

When the latest media reports come out, all kinds of voices such as contempt, disdain, ridicule, and praise fill the Internet, making it dizzying.

"Yesterday, in order to seek support from the cinema chain for scheduling a film, Fang Li, the producer of the film "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", knelt in front of the camera during a live broadcast and begged for a screening!"

"According to the latest news, Pan Asia Cinema Line has officially increased the screening schedule of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", and the average screening rate of its cinemas is as high as 10%, which can ensure that there are screenings in every time period." "Unfortunately, in addition to Pan Asia Cinema Line, China Film, Anle, Huayi, Bona, New Film Association, Wanda, UME and other cinema chains have given "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" an average screening rate of only 1%, which is even negligible, and the screenings are mostly concentrated in non-prime time periods..."

When these news were ruthlessly revealed by the media, many cinema chains that followed Pan Asia Cinemas in issuing an announcement yesterday were immediately slapped in the face.

They clearly vowed to increase the screening time for "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", but in the end they only gave it 1%. This stinginess is really sad.

Many people have already started to curse online:

"I'm so ashamed for you guys. Is this what you call full support? 1% of the average screening data is also called full support? It's really funny."

"Look at Pan Asia Cinemas, and then look at you, you are really awesome."

"I know that for the sake of profit, how could the theaters really support it? They are just talking about it."

"Director Chen is awesome! He really does what he says. He gives us improvements when he says we'll get them. That's what we call a promise of integrity!"

"It's decided. From now on, I will go to the theaters under Pan Asia to watch movies. All other theaters should die!"

To be honest, even Chen Fei himself did not expect that the theaters that issued statements together would be so "stingy"!
1% of the screenings are scheduled during non-prime time periods... What's the difference between this and no screenings at all?

"Hey, what's wrong with these friendly companies? Didn't they say they would give their full support? Why are they only giving so little support?"

At noon, Huo Qigang called on time, his tone full of sarcasm.

Chen Fei curled his lips and said, "How easy is it to just shout slogans? If we really schedule a film, each one will be more distressed than the other."

"Haha." Huo Qigang said cheerfully, "You don't know, netizens are supporting our cinema right now, several screenings are full, and the attendance rates of other movies have also increased significantly.

So, our action of increasing the screening schedule of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" not only did not result in a loss, but we actually made a profit!"

Chen Fei said seriously: "This proves a truth."

"what?"

“Companies are all idiots!”

"Hahahahaha!"

Huo Qigang was so happy that he almost laughed out loud.

……

The film industry is very lively, and the TV drama industry is no less lively.

"The Undocumented Crime" has been online on Youku since May 2st. Although only two episodes have been released so far, its popularity has remained high.

With just those two episodes, the number of clicks has soared to 4 million, and Douban has over 10 people giving it a score of 8.0!
Obviously, this drama is very popular, and it is extremely popular!

As a result, the male lead Qin Hao and the female lead Deng Jiajia in the drama are now being widely discussed on Weibo.

Especially the latter, fans almost didn’t recognize her. Zhu Huiru in "The Undocumented Crime" turned out to be the aunt in "Love Apartment"!
It has to be said that the value of Down's Performance Rules continues to rise.

In addition, Tangren’s "The Legend of Sword and Fairy 5" and Jiaxing’s "Dear Translator" have also been very popular recently.

The two dramas are scheduled to be released on May 5rd and 23th respectively, and they seem to be ready to compete with each other.

Although it is not known who will win, Tangren and Jiaxing are now at loggerheads and neither is willing to give in.

The internet trolls of both sides were making a lot of noise, praising and demoting the powerful, it was really exciting.

To be honest, Chen Fei is still quite curious about the finished film of "Legend of Sword and Fairy: The Clouds".

At that time, Cai Yinong was scared away by the high price quoted by Dianjing Digital, and finally went to Hong Kong to find a small special effects company, but she didn’t know what the final effect of the film would be.

……

A day later, on May 5, the 11th Cannes International Film Festival officially kicked off.

However, because there are no Chinese-language films shortlisted at Cannes this year, netizens are not very concerned about this year's Cannes International Film Festival.

In comparison, what everyone wants to see more is the latest box office data of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix".

Thanks to the high screening schedule of Pan Asia Cinemas and the strong support of many netizens, the daily box office of "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", which had originally dropped to 41, has jumped to 1069 million!
This wave of box office rebound directly confused several other theaters.

If they had known that this movie had such great potential, why would they have forced the screening, causing netizens to curse at them?
Now, all the credit goes to Pan Asia Cinemas, and they have become clowns.

"Boss, look at this..."

The secretary stood in front of the desk somewhat awkwardly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

China Film Group has lost a lot of face this time. After all, as the leading state-owned enterprise, they should have played a good leading role.

But what no one expected was that they would take the lead in "stingy search".

Many leaders in the bureau expressed their dissatisfaction, which made La Peikang feel very embarrassed.

"Add more screenings, and raise it to 10%." La Peikang ordered helplessly, and finally reminded: "Don't affect "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" and "Captain America 3". You can appropriately reduce the screenings of other Chinese films and provide them to "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix."

"Okay, La Dong."

The secretary responded, but couldn't help but murmur in his heart: "If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place? Now look what I have done, I can't even get anything in return for my efforts..."

La Peikang buried his head, and no one knew what he was thinking about. One could vaguely see that his face was slightly red.

When he went to the General Administration this morning, he heard a lot of sarcastic voices, so much so that he is now feeling very uneasy.

"How come you are the only one who is so unique in this Pan-Asia Cinema Chain? You really stand out..."

~

At first, many people, including Chen Fei, thought that this year's Cannes International Film Festival would have nothing to do with the Chinese-language film industry, after all, no Chinese-language films were shortlisted.

But what most people did not expect was that at the opening ceremony of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, domestic entertainment stole the spotlight!
A large group of second- and third-tier actresses actually went to Cannes and happily walked the red carpet.

“You don’t know that the price of this year’s Cannes red carpet tickets has reached 10 euros, but they are still in short supply.

The group of domestic female celebrities seemed to be crazy. They just stayed on the red carpet and refused to leave. The security guards couldn't pull them away.

Some fell down, some fainted, some had their skirts stepped on, it was just a mess, it made me blush..."

Listening to Ning Hao's words on the other end of the phone, Chen Fei's mouth twitched.

Although he was not at the scene, he could still imagine how awkward and embarrassing the situation was.

"You didn't join in the fun?"

"The organizer did invite me, but I didn't go. I can't afford to lose face." While speaking, Ning Hao suddenly changed the subject: "I plan to go back after the early promotion of "Kunlun Temple" is over. I have a hunch that this year's Cannes Film Festival will definitely have some troubles. Don't let me be implicated."

Fade Chen nodded: "Okay, you can make your own arrangements."

"Wait a minute, don't hang up yet, there's one more thing!" Ning Hao asked, "When will my film Kunlun Palace be released? Will it be during the National Day? Or the Lunar New Year? Or next year's Spring Festival?"

"Wait a minute. I need to communicate with the Navy to see when Operation Red Sea will be released. These two movies must be separated. If they collide, both will suffer."

"Okay, OK. Remember to let me know when it's confirmed. I'll arrange the subsequent promotion plan."

"it is good."

"And that 'Young Director Commercial Film Project' you mentioned earlier, have you made any progress?"

"The plan is almost done. It will be released in June at the latest. Don't worry!"

"How can I not be anxious? I won't have any work to do after I return from Cannes! I can't stay at home for long, or the tigress will eat me alive!"

After hearing this reason, Fade Chen was speechless.

"Director Ning, how about you go buy some wolfberries, deer antlers, or something, and then find a better Chinese medicine practitioner to treat you?"

"Okay, okay, I'm busy now and don't have time to chat with you, that's all!"

Ning Hao hung up the phone unhappily.

He wanted to take care of himself, but how could his body, which was about to turn 40, bear the torment of working so hard every day and night?
……

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