China Entertainment started from Nortel 2002

Chapter 654: No Buttoning
The approval of "Dying to Survive" was like dropping a bomb in the industry.

Not only because of the subject matter, but also because the director of this film is Li Mu.

In the film and television industry, the two words "Li Mu" are worth at least 10 billion in box office revenue, and their driving ability is too strong.

It can be said that the huge success of "Operation Red Sea" was due to the publicity and the actors' contributions, but the primary credit goes to Li Mu.

During the three days of promotion, although the box office failed to break the record again on the fourth, fifth and sixth days of National Day, it did exceed 3 million yuan on these three consecutive days.

Now, after seven days of release, "Operation Red Sea" has grossed 24 billion yuan, and there is still one day left in the National Day holiday.

However, on the last day of the National Day, when everyone was still guessing who would represent mainland China in the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, no one expected that "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" directed by Huo Jianqi and starring Huang Xiaoming had been quietly selected for the Oscar.

The news came back from The Hollywood Reporter.

As expected, when the results came out, netizens were shocked and their jaws dropped to the ground.

Because as of now, 83 countries and regions have submitted their own application films.

As many as 25 works have been shortlisted for the three major European film festivals, accounting for more than a quarter.

It can be seen that the Oscars now have very close ties with the three major European film festivals.

"The Map of the River", which was "overtaken" by other mainland films bidding for the Olympic Games, was nominated for the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and the film's cinematographer Li Pingbin also won the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.

If the film selected by the mainland was "The Map of the River", no matter what the result was, it would at least be in line with the selection trend of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in the past three years, and it would also be consistent in style with the vast majority of the films registered this year.

But this result was beyond expectations.

"After watching it on National Day, I sighed, this is the most boring movie I have ever seen. It has sincerity but is even more boring!"

“Why not The Legend of the Gods? Since it can’t be good, it has to be so bad that it blinds the judges!!”

"'Jade Dynasty' just lost due to time constraints. Otherwise, it could have been a strong candidate for an Oscar. What a pity!"

"In this case, I won't hide it anymore. Hello everyone, I will also participate in the next US presidential election."

"."

Netizens were complaining like crazy, and some were questioning how the mainland's Olympic bid films were selected, and why such a bad movie, one that didn't even pass the Douban score and had almost no merits, could represent the Olympic bid.

Li Mu estimated that the workdays in the bureau would be troublesome for a while. The complaints kept coming one after another, and they had to give an explanation.

However, he also had to go to the bureau on the 8th. "Dying to Survive" agreed in principle, which meant that matters in principle still needed to be determined, and the negotiation time was set on the first working day after National Day.

Li Mu has learned from Zhang Hongsen that representatives from the Food and Drug Administration will also attend tomorrow's meeting.

Liu Yifei, who had just finished washing up in the evening, was lying lazily on the bed in a light yellow skirt-hem pajamas, holding a book on parenting in her hands.

Li Mu had just finished taking a shower and shook his body. He felt a little tired from the promotion in the past few days. He couldn't help but lie down on the edge of the bed, pointing to his back and signaling.

"Come, help me press it. The promotion these days is too tiring!"

"Why can't you visit fewer places? Why do you have such a full schedule every day?"

Liu Yifei put the book down, turned over, rode on Li Mu, and pressed her hands on his back.

"I'm already here, and I think my fans have shown their support for the movie, so I'll just run around more."

Li Mu felt a pair of small hands rubbing him vigorously from behind, and couldn't help but feel a sour sensation.

It's just that because Liu Yifei's hair was not tied up, as she moved, some strands of hair always felt like gently touching her back. After so many times, Li Mu couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to turn around.

As a result, Liu Yifei was under heavy pressure. Li Mu was about to ask what was going on, but when he turned around, he saw a pair of big watery eyes.

The collar of her pajamas seemed to be pulled down a little, revealing her graceful swan neck and sexy collarbone.

"Is the girl asleep?"

Li Mu asked quietly for confirmation, the little kid normally wouldn't wake up so quickly when he fell asleep.

"Um"

Liu Yifei's sweet voice sounded softly, like a magic that tempted people to attack.

The night in October should have been a little chilly, but the warmth in the room was beyond imagination, like a heat wave sweeping over.

The next day, the results of the National Day period were released, and the data really made the industry gasp.

"Operation Red Sea earned 2.8 million yuan on the last day of the National Day, and the total box office has exceeded 26 billion yuan. The cumulative box office during the seven days of the National Day exceeded 24 billion yuan, setting a new National Day box office record."

"The National Day box office exceeded 35 billion yuan. Operation Red Sea single-handedly pushed the National Day box office to a new high, accounting for nearly 70%. The same type of movie Operation Mekong successfully broke through the 6 million mark, becoming the second biggest winner of the National Day."

"This year's National Day box office continues to prove the law that "content is king". The best-received movies have the longest box office growth, breaking the previous pattern of comedy and fantasy dominating the National Day box office. Main theme and realistic themes have achieved both box office and reputation success.
The era of genre-based success has passed, and the quality of movies and box office are increasingly positively correlated. "

"The National Day box office was only 36 million short of the billion box office record set by the Spring Festival, but unfortunately failed."

"."

Early in the morning, various media have been summing up the gains and losses of this National Day. However, the 35 billion box office really gave a dose of stimulant to the slightly weak film and television industry this year, and now all major theaters are doing very well.

Major film and television companies were also shouting with excitement.

Although "Wolf Warrior 2" has been confirmed by Mengying Media that it will not be released with a guaranteed release, the industry is restless and main-theme movies seem to have become the new hot spot.

At the same time, Li Mu was changing his clothes and preparing to go to the Film Bureau.

However, after looking at the record of Liu Yifei's shirt on his chest, he couldn't help but look at Liu Yifei, whose face was slightly red and chubby, and he could only button one more button helplessly.

"Don't unbutton this, understand?"

Liu Yifei shyly tugged at Li Mu's clothes.

"Luckily I can cover it by buttoning the second button. If it was any higher, I would have been strangled to death."

Li Mu joked.

"You're going to die, and you're still talking."

Liu Yifei couldn't help but stretch out her hand to Li Mu's waist and pinched it gently, making Li Mu feel a little sore all over.

Film Bureau.

Li Mu stopped the car and looked at his watch. There was still plenty of time left for the agreed time.

"Brother!"

He had just taken two steps when he heard someone calling him from behind. It was undoubtedly Han Jianu.

As the chief screenwriter of the film, I naturally have to participate today.

"What a coincidence. I just wanted to send you a message to ask where you are."

Li Mu was very familiar with his position in the bureau. After all, he had attended a lot of meetings over the years.

"To avoid being late, leave home a little earlier."

Han Jianu said with a smile.

The two of them had only taken a few steps when they ran into Zhang Hongsen and his secretary.

"Director Zhang, the Internet has severely criticized the application of "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" for the Olympics. There is strong opposition to the selection criteria being opaque."

His secretary was apparently reporting on the heated discussion sparked by "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" the day before.

When Zhang Hongsen saw Li Mu and Han Jianu coming, he hurriedly said a few words to his secretary, and then they walked into the meeting room together.

"Brother, your movie Operation Red Sea was not released a week before National Day, which is really a big problem for the bureau."

Han Jianu whispered.

If "Operation Red Sea" met the Olympic bid requirements, the bureau probably wouldn't have submitted "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" for selection.

Li Mu smiled and did not comment.

"The representative from the Food and Drug Administration will need a few more minutes. Please take a seat first." Zhang Hongsen motioned for the two to sit down.

"There are no problems with the approval of "Dying to Survive". I guess they are mainly here to emphasize some precautions again. Just pay more attention during filming."

"It seems that Mengying Media has another movie, "Arrival," scheduled for the Lunar New Year holiday this year. Does Director Li have the confidence to boost the Lunar New Year box office?

This year’s box office is still far from the 600 billion yuan target set by the bureau at the beginning of the year. Operation Red Sea has made up some of the gap, but it is definitely not going to be completed. Now it depends on whether we can achieve 80% of the target.”

While the people from the Food and Drug Administration had not arrived yet, Zhang Hongsen started chatting with Li Mu. The content of the conversation was very official, which was about performance pressure.

The Spring Festival period at the beginning of the year was very popular and it seemed prosperous. However, the following periods all failed one after another. It was not until the summer vacation that a new hit, "Operation Red Sea", was released. This directly led to this year's goal being far away.

However, against the backdrop of a rapidly growing number of screens, the "zero growth" result, which is almost stagnant, appears particularly glaring.

Zhang Hongsen can only hope that the "leader" will appear again during the important period, so that the performance of other films will rise accordingly.

Just like "The Mermaid" led the market to break through 36 billion, and "Operation Red Sea" led the market to break through 35 billion, these are the "leaders" that led the market's heat.

Now "The Great Wall" is a major pillar of the Lunar New Year period, but it is not enough insurance.

"Director Zhang, Mengying Media can only say that they have tried their best, but Director Guo's "Arrival" is still a bit literary after all, and it is not a serious commercial science fiction film."

Li Mu was not too sure about guaranteeing that "Arrival" might be okay, but it was doubtful whether it would become a big hit.

“In fact, after ten consecutive years of high-speed growth of more than 30%, the Chinese film industry has, to some extent, consumed various valuable and effective resources in advance. At the same time, various problems at the industrial, cultural and aesthetic levels are constantly being exposed.

It is not a bad thing to slow down the development speed in a timely, appropriate and moderate manner."

Li Mu knew that the 600 billion yuan was far from enough for the current situation. After thinking about it, he said something comforting. In short, the company had been developing at a high speed in the past ten years, so some problems were inevitable.
(End of this chapter)