The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 659 Tit for tat
"Brother Chao!" Lu Yuan said politely.

"Mr. Lu Lu."

"Mr. Lu, you are so polite. Just call me by my name."

Deng Chao hesitated, then nodded with a smile and introduced: "This is the screenwriter Wu Tao, stage name Yu Baimei."

Lu Yuan had already noticed this man in his thirties. He had a kind face, wore glasses, and a black suit, looking like a science and engineering guy.

Yu Baimei extended her hands enthusiastically, smiling: "Mr. Lu, I have heard of your name for a long time."

Lu Yuan shook hands with him and said, "Teacher Wu, I heard Zhou Xinchi mention you when I was filming last year. You wrote an article that year. I don't remember the specific name. It was widely circulated on the Internet and included in the book "Zhou Xinchi's Incomplete Handbook". Zhou Xinchi wrote in the preface of the book that Mr. Yu Baimei understood him very well."

"Ah, it's called 'Online Sword Discussion: Zhou Xinchi's Analytical Chapter'. I didn't expect that Mr. Xin still remembered it. Haha." Yu Baimei laughed.

In the 450s, there was a website called "Under the Banyan Tree", which was one of the earliest gathering places for online writers. At its peak, the number of registered users reached million.

The well-known publisher Lu Jinbo (nickname Li Xunhuan) who invested in "See You Tomorrow", screenwriter Ning Caishen, and writer Murong Xuecun were all active here at that time.

Yu Baimei was one of them, and later became famous for dissecting Zhou Xinchi with a knife.

Since then, he gave up his computer major and embarked on the path of professional screenwriter.

He has created many TV series with excellent reputation, such as "Diary of a Networm", "The Invincible Three-Legged Cat" and "Around and Behind the House", and his productivity is astonishing.

"So, what is the purpose of your visit this time?" Lu Yuan asked directly.

Deng Chao and Yu Baimei exchanged glances and said frankly: "We have a script, but we don't know if we can have the chance to make it into a movie."

Lu Yuan understood that this person was looking for him to invest.

Since the great success of works such as "Lost in Thailand", "Seattle" and "Border Storm", the Star Project has become well-known in the industry and has become the first choice for many new directors seeking investment.

He looked at Deng Chao: "So this time, you want to transform into a director."

"Well, I want to try it."

Yu Baimei took over the conversation: "He had the idea of ​​becoming a director when he was in college. At that time, he often choreographed some one-act plays and also worked as a director on stage."

"After graduation, he told me several times that he wanted to be a film director. I always told him to go to bed."

"But he has a talent for directing, but I think the timing is not right yet, and he doesn't have the time or energy."

"This time we decided to go together," Deng Chao added.

Lu Yuan raised his eyes: "In that case, let's make it short and take a look at the script first."

"Okay." Yu Baimei immediately took out a script from her bag.

The script was not thick. Lu Yuan took it and glanced at the cover. There were four words on it: "Breakup Master".

He frowned slightly: "If I remember correctly, Teacher Wu had a play called "Breakup Master" before, starring Cao Yunjing."

"Indeed, this script is adapted from the play 'The Breakup Master'."

Yu Baimei further elaborated: "But this time the movie version probably only retains 10% of the content of the play."

"We want to tell a story about young people in this city, especially those young people who are drifting in the big city, how they meet, fall in love, and grow up together in a series of comedic events. We have put a lot of effort into the plot adaptation."

“That’s right.” Deng Chao agreed: “There are IP movies in China, but there has never been a drama movie. We think this is an opportunity and we can give it a try.”

Lu Yuan did not open the script immediately, but asked curiously: "Why did you two choose "Breakup Master" instead of "Cui Hua", your first drama together as a director this time?"

When Deng Chao was a junior at the Central Academy of Drama, he performed in a play called "Cuihua, Serve the Sour Cabbage" on New Year's Eve in 2001.

The script was written by screenwriter Yu Baimei and her companions for an episode of a sitcom directed by Yingda.

Later, it was taken to school by Deng Chao’s classmates at the Central Academy of Drama and handed in as an acting assignment.

Initially, no female classmate was willing to play the role of Jiuer, so Deng Chao volunteered to play both the male and female roles.

Jiuer was particularly subversive in his performance. She wore a black miniskirt with suspenders, fishnet stockings, flaming red lips and afro, and danced pole dancing on the stage.

This student work unexpectedly became popular both inside and outside the school. The first round of commercial performances grossed over one million yuan at the box office and became the focus of the drama market for a while.

Deng Chao became an instant hit in Beijing's commercial drama circle with his exaggerated looks and charming gestures.

Director Yingda even publicly praised Deng Chao, saying that he would be a pioneer in the comedy world in the future!

It was also thanks to this drama that Deng Chao and Yu Baimei hooked up and found that they had "like-minded interests" and became good friends for more than ten years. Even Deng Chao's wedding was hosted by Yu Baimei.

Compared to "Breakup Master", "Cuihua" is obviously more valuable.

Yu Baimei explained: "In fact, some film and television companies did approach us about Cuihua and wanted to make it into a movie."

"But we feel that Cuihua is not mature enough in terms of story and structure. It is more of a fragmented performance and is more suitable for the presentation of a stage play."

"In comparison, The Breakup Master is more suitable for adaptation into a movie."

Lu Yuan listened silently and opened the script.

"Breakup Master" is roughly about a "breakup master" who helps couples who find it difficult to break up to end their relationship through a unique method, and in the process, they meet their other half.

While he was flipping through the script, Deng Chao and Yu Baimei felt uneasy.

The two are very clear that "The Breakup Guru" is a comedy that does not explore the philosophy of life or attempt to convey any profound truths to the audience.

It's just a pure commercial popcorn movie that makes the audience laugh by being silly and funny.

In the eyes of film critics, this movie may appear vulgar and without substance, and may even be labeled as a "big bad movie".

Lu Yuan’s thoughts were similar to theirs.

Many plots in the script are just for laughs, and the content of the story is to elicit laughter, so that after reading the whole script, the plot is fragmented.

There are two concepts behind the Star Project's investment in movies.

One is to aim to make money, and the other is to try to carry something.

"The Breakup Guru" obviously belongs to the first type, a popcorn movie, which is entertaining for the sake of entertainment, but the audience forgets it after watching it, and there is no memorable point.

For a moment, he was unsure whether to invest.

After a while, Lu Yuan closed the script and said to the two people's expectant eyes: "In principle, I have no problem, but we have to discuss it with other colleagues in the company. If the investment is confirmed, you can rest assured that you can decide on the actors yourself. We will not interfere with the director's casting."

"Okay, okay, let's discuss it. We should discuss it." Deng Chao smiled, feeling relieved.

"Send me an electronic file later." Lu Yuan returned the script and said, "If you're not in a hurry to leave, wait until I finish filming and then we can have a drink tonight?"

"No hurry, no hurry." They said in unison.

In the first few days after its premiere, the box office of "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" soared like a rocket, but the good times did not last long.

After all, the audience who make impulse purchases are only a minority. When the novelty wears off, the movie box office quickly plummets to the bottom, with a magnitude that is staggering.

But even so, it still grossed nearly 300 million at the box office in this June period.

Given the numerous advertisements inserted in the film, the project has actually achieved profitability. Many big Vs posted on Weibo: "The reason why "Fuji Mountain" can make back its investment is because most Chinese audiences are idiots!"

There has been a lot of criticism of the film on the Internet, but the public's attention has quietly shifted.

In late June, the publicity campaign for "See You Tomorrow" and "Tiny Times" entered a white-hot stage.

From the cultural circle to the entertainment circle, Han Han and Guo Jingming have a love-hate relationship.

It seems as if they are an indispensable reference system on each other's growth path, always looking at each other, always trying to suppress each other.

If we say that over the past decade or so, the two people's banter, either funny or full of tension, has been a wonderful soap opera.

Then, when the battlefield shifts to the box office battle, the atmosphere becomes completely different.

In order to promote their own films, both sides used all kinds of methods, with various strategies and tit-for-tat. The passionate fans also felt the same way and the argument was in full swing.

As the saying goes, marketing must be unbridled, only fools would restrain themselves.

There was a lot of sparks flying between the two of them, and from the initial bickering between them, it gradually became a bottom-line-less situation.

Han Han has three treasures when it comes to promoting his new film: women, daughters and dogs.

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The "woman" here not only refers to Han Han’s wife, or the leading actress Liu Xinyu, but also Guo Jingming.

Han Han had already taken the initiative to draw a clear line between him and her: "We are different in gender."

These six simple words once caused an uproar in public opinion.

As for my daughter Ono.

During the filming of "See You Tomorrow", Han Han shared cute photos of her three-year-old daughter and interesting stories about her life on Weibo.

The little girl has big, beautiful eyes and is cute, which has attracted many of Han Han's fans and passers-by netizens to switch to Ono's camp.

For a time, the slogan "'See You Tomorrow' sells well, and Ono's dowry will be indispensable" was circulated wildly among fans.

In addition, musician Park Shu also lent his support and released his new song "Ordinary Road" exclusively on Weibo.

This was the first time he released a new song in 9 years, which caused a sensation.

"Ordinary Road" is the theme song of "See You Tomorrow", arranged by Park Seol and written by Han Han and Park Seol.

After the song was released.

#《No See You Later》Theme Song#
#Park Seol's "No See You Later"#
The reading volume of these two topics exceeds 80 million, which can be regarded as explosive news.

And "Tiny Times" is not to be outdone.

When Han Han used pictures of his daughter for marketing, Guo Jingming posted sexy photos of Yang Mi, Guo Biting and others, and then posted a flashy, extravagant, exquisite and beautiful MV.

Han Han asked someone to write a song, and he also asked Sodagreen to write one, and promised: "If the box office exceeds 5 million, Yang Mi will swim naked!"

Such flirting happens too frequently.

As time went by, the two became a pair of "love-hate couple". Although they were incompatible, they always made the headlines together.

It is no exaggeration to say that these two products basically monopolized all the hot topics in late June.

This made netizens of unknown background excitedly shout "Be together", and some photo-editing experts even posted a photo of the two holding hands online.

Totally corrupt.

"In fact, these are marketing methods that we have tacitly cooperated with each other. Although it may seem tense, in fact, all the topics revolve around these two movies."

In the conference room, Zhang Bowen said this to the boss’s wife Liu Shishi.

Liu Shishi was just doing her routine work and came to inspect the company on behalf of Lu Yuan. She happened to catch Zhang Bowen's meeting and was invited to listen in from the side.

After hearing this, she prepared to get up and leave.

At the same time, one cannot help but secretly complain that Zhang Bowen has a dirty heart. No, it’s the hearts of those in the entertainment industry who play publicity.

"Ding Ding Ding!"

Zhang Bowen answered a phone call, and then his fingers tapped frantically on the keyboard of the laptop in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Liu Shishi asked with concern.

Zhang Bowen frowned, "In order to attract traffic, a ticketing website took advantage of the competition between "See You Tomorrow" and "Tiny Times" to compare the heights of Guo Jingming and Han Han, stipulating that audiences below a certain height limit can enjoy a half-price discount on movie tickets.

As a result, Tiny Times is convinced that it was us who did it, and is now hyping it up in an attempt to ruin the popularity of See You Tomorrow and Han Han."

While he was talking, Liu Shishi opened Weibo.

The official Weibo account of Tiny Times said: "We have remained silent on all the comparisons and attacks on the Internet and the media. However, as a producer and distributor, it is inappropriate to use such activities in marketing activities, which involve personal attacks on the director of Tiny Times.

It exceeds the bottom line of human morality. Height does not affect the box office. I hope you can delete similar marketing. Don't use this method again."

The production team of "See You Tomorrow" responded to "Tiny Times" in the same way on their official Weibo.

"We actually noticed the situation you mentioned last night. This is a gimmick created by the ticketing website. We immediately asked them to modify it after we found it. Although we do not have the right to order others to modify the copy.

But with our insistence, the website has already completed the modification. We also call on all parties to respect these two films when spontaneously creating promotional copy. Thank you and best wishes. "

Seeing Liu Shishi's serious expression, Zhang Bowen comforted her, "It's okay, we..."

Unexpectedly, Liu Shishi suddenly had an idea: "Mr. Zhang, is it possible that the other side did this on purpose?"

"Uh" Zhang Bowen was stunned for a moment, pinching his chin in thought.

Others in the meeting room started discussing.

"Hiss, don't tell me, maybe this is the truth. How come it wasn't mentioned before? The movie was released a few days ago, and suddenly this happened. Guo Xiaosi must be killed!"

"I think the boss lady is right."

"Yes, I agree with the boss lady's guess. It's entirely possible!"

Zhang Bowen looked at everyone, his eyes twitching. They were praising him too much. Why didn't you guys praise him like this when President Lu held meetings before?

shameless!
He coughed and slapped the table.

"boom!"

The conference room suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and everyone turned their heads to look.

Zhang Bowen looked exaggerated and exclaimed: "This is a genius idea. Why didn't I think of it? I claim to be quite talented in marketing, but now it seems that I am far behind the boss lady."

No one has ever seen such a shameless person. Everyone despises him.

Liu Shishi pursed her lips.

I admit that my acting skills are not that good, but are you questioning my appreciation ability and IQ by being so exaggerated?

(End of this chapter)