China Entertainment's Standout

Chapter 1031 Scandal Exposed, Pure and Honest

"Zhou Dudu's live stream went viral, and according to statistics, a total of more than 50 million yuan was raised in donations that night."

"Female celebrities are vying for attention, creating a tense atmosphere!"

"The later plot spoilers for 'Snowy Swordsman' are exciting, making it a shoo-in for the title of best drama of the year!"

"Commander Zhou has confirmed that he will make a guest appearance in 'The Squid Game,' and filming will begin soon!"

"."

Last night's live stream ended, and unsurprisingly, it topped the trending searches across all entertainment pages.

The clips from the live stream and news reports sparked heated discussions among netizens.

"My God, over 50 million in tips in one night? Did I hear the wrong unit?"

"Absolutely, definitely, and certainly, you didn't mishear me!"

"I have a rough idea: why not have the Grand Commander do a live stream every day, with a small goal every two days? Making money will be easier than breathing."

"Is it possible that he can easily make money without live streaming? He might just be basking in Governor Zhou's wealth!"

"I've never seen anything like this before. The female celebrity is acting like she's gone crazy."

"."

The person in charge of Douyin Live was also dumbfounded, thinking that he was seeing things or that there was a bug in the system.

After checking repeatedly, it was found that there was no problem.

"How much was tipped last night?"

"5234.5 million!"

"That's a bit much."

Even Zhou Yutang was somewhat surprised when he heard this number.

On second thought, it makes sense.

The Grand Commander of Jiangdong, with a single call to arms, commands the masses; he is truly the number one figure in the Chinese entertainment industry.

He already has a huge fan base, a significant portion of whom are wealthy men and women with financial means.

Of course, the most crucial element is still the celebrities in the entertainment industry.

For those of lower status, a few thousand yuan less is enough to make a name for themselves in front of Governor Zhou, just like giving a calendar to your teacher—it's all about getting acquainted with them.
For example, big names like Huang Xiaoming and Deng Chao have donated tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan each.

With dozens or hundreds of people contributing, and some brands rushing to spend money on advertising, the total amount of tips is naturally quite considerable.

Regardless, receiving over 50 million yuan in tips in one night has already created a legend in the entire live streaming industry.

It's even more extravagant than a typical charity gala.

This money, taken from film and television stars and used for the benefit of the people, can be considered a mild form of wealth redistribution, which is ultimately a good thing.

However, Zhu Yilong was innocently caught in the crossfire last night.

Zhou Yutang chatted on his live stream until after 11 p.m., then decided to invite Brother Long to play PUBG together.

As it turned out, I was matched with a netizen who was watching the live stream, and the latter posted a screenshot of his PUBG score online.

Zhu Yilong's ID is Pinocchio, the same nickname he revealed in a previous interview.

There's another girl whose nickname is "Wonder Woman Laugh".

At first, netizens thought it was another "fish girl" incident, so they dug deeper and actually found some clues.

This mysterious girl's profile picture is exactly the same as that of actress Xu Zixuan on Xiaohongshu.

Moreover, Xu Zixuan's real name is Guo Xiao, and her nickname is Xiaoxiao. She was Zhou Dudu's college classmate and is quite pretty.

Despite being classmates, she had no connection with Governor Zhou, but instead collaborated with Zhu Yilong on two dramas.

The all-knowing Chinese netizens transformed into Sherlock Holmes, even digging up Zhu Yilong's PUBG stats from the previous two months, revealing that he and Xu Zixuan had several duo queue experiences.

Combined with their slightly ambiguous interactions in private, this directly confirms the rumors of their relationship.

Zhou Yutang joked, "Well done, Brother Long, you're keeping a low profile and getting things done."

"Are all netizens these days scouts? I'm amazed they could find this."

Zhu Yilong, caught in the eye of the scandal, finally experienced the daily joy of Governor Zhou and poured out his grievances in the three brothers' small group chat.

When do you plan to make an official announcement?

"Take it slow, let's get to know each other first and see how it goes."

Brother Long sent a frustrated emoji.

Over the years, the Grand Commander of Jiangdong has lived a life of pleasure and romance, and his friends have also taken on their own lives.

Take Zhu Yilong for example. After peacefully breaking up with his ex-girlfriend, his current girlfriend, Xu Zixuan, is a female classmate in the undergraduate program of performing arts.

However, Brother Long has always been low-key, and unless he has a film or television project to be released, you can hardly find any gossip articles about him.

Brother Long himself doesn't really like his love life being exposed.

Despite being kept completely hidden, it was still exposed to the public eye by Zhou Yutang's live broadcast.

Another close friend of Governor Zhou, Zhang Ruojun, was also revealed by netizens to have registered his marriage with Tang Yixin at the Tongzhou Civil Affairs Bureau on May 520th this year.

The two had been together for several years, their relationship was stable, and it was indeed time to move on to the next stage.

However, Zhang Ruojun, as a top-tier popular actor, has a full schedule, and his wedding date is yet to be set.

The summer blockbuster palace drama "Story of Yanxi Palace" has finally aired its finale.

The later parts weren't as exciting as the earlier parts, but overall they were still phenomenal hits.

The death of Fu Heng, an important character in the drama, brought tears to the eyes of many viewers.

Xu Kai, who was originally a nobody in the industry, really benefited from the hit drama and successfully rose to the top of the list of top-tier male celebrities.

After the palace intrigue subsided, "Snow in the Sword" completely dominated the small screen.

The drama about Lu Han and Guan Yu's love story, which aired at the same time, was completely and mercilessly overshadowed.

After one live stream, Zhou Yutang once again went back to his Buddhist-like state and disappeared from public view.

Chen Duling's workload suddenly increased because she also had to liaise with the Jiangdong Charity Foundation.

Governor Zhou entrusted her with the responsibility for several subsequent projects. These tens of millions of yuan were no small sum, and they were not just superficial matters decided on a whim; every penny had to be put into practice.

After three weeks, "Dying to Survive" has seen its total box office soar to 37.68 billion yuan, and the box office trend has finally begun to slow down.

A film's prime time is generally three weeks, and a drop in daily box office revenue is ultimately inevitable.

But the amazing performance of the "Medicine God" has stirred up a frenzy and excitement throughout the film and television industry.

The "Investiture of the Gods" trilogy, which boasts a total investment of 3 billion yuan, has started to dominate social media.

It's not just Jiangdong who's good at open auditions; Song Ge, the helmsman of Beijing culture, is also a marketing tycoon.

The Grand Commander is selecting consorts across Asia, while Brother Song is holding a global audition, turning it into a game of "Produce 101".

In late July, Beijing Culture and Changshengtian Pictures jointly issued an announcement:

“前后历时将近半年，从全球15000份简历中甄选出30余名新人后，成功完成为期24周、每天12–14小时的全封闭训练！

The specific training courses are based on the Six Arts of a Gentleman: martial arts, horsemanship, archery, body shaping, guqin (a seven-stringed zither), and pre-Qin cultural history, etc. The weekly performance has been edited into a documentary!
The training camp has now successfully concluded, and the first batch of trainees, including Yu Shi (Ji Fa), Chen Muchi (Yin Jiao), Na Ran (Daji), and Li Yunrui, will star in the "Fengshen Trilogy"!

"The 'Fengshen Trilogy' has a total investment of over 3 billion yuan. The most expensive mythological blockbuster in Chinese film history is about to make a stunning debut!"

"."

The news was like a meteorite hitting the earth, causing a huge shock both inside and outside the industry.

Even Jiangdong, the undisputed leader in the domestic entertainment industry, has never managed such a massive project before. The Snow Trilogy has attracted a staggering investment of 10 billion yuan.

This "Investiture of the Gods" trilogy is actually a 30 billion yuan Ponzi scheme. "Director Wu, well done! The actors are serious about their acting, and the director is dedicated to his work. I'm sure this trilogy will be a hit!"

"What's this? A new formula for film and television variety shows?"

"Who cares? Support the newcomer! Support Director Wu! Let's go!"

"The actors all seem to have quite an exotic look!"

"."

The movie hasn't even started filming yet, and it's already trending on social media platforms.

Brother Song is quite a character. He held a press conference before filming started to personally confirm that the three films would start filming and wrap up at the same time!
They also played some behind-the-scenes footage from the so-called "Investiture of the Gods Training Camp".

Several fit and muscular young men, resembling model brothers, performed a war dance.

Zhou Yutang was busy working on the final stages of "The Wandering Earth" and was having lunch in the company cafeteria when Guo Fan brought up the matter.
"Boss, do you think this has potential?"

"If it were me, I would definitely take it one step at a time and do the first part well."

After a pause, Zhou Yutang continued, "Let's see how the market reacts before considering further action."

"And then...you made me take over?"

"You can have this."

"Hahaha!"

The team leaders from the special effects group next to them all laughed.

Guo Fan works for the Grand Commander of Jiangdong. He first took on "The Thieves", then "Ghost Blows Out the Light", and then "Chinatown". Netizens often jokingly call him the Grand Commander's personal savior.

After a few jokes, Zhou Yutang said slowly and deliberately, "To be frank, filming this trilogy back-to-back has stretched the entire project cycle too long, leaving too little room for error. It's impossible to make subsequent adjustments based on market feedback, so I don't think it will necessarily succeed."

Another important reason is that the special effects for "Investiture of the Gods" were originally intended to be done by Vision Media.

The world-building of the "Fengshen Trilogy" is vast, and the special effects production was a massive and complex undertaking.
In China, only Vision Media has the capability to package an entire project.

Director Wu had inquired about the price before, but after receiving the price from Vision Media, he never heard back.

For Vision Media, of course, it doesn't matter.

Because Vision Media is now a top-tier visual effects company worldwide.

Even some Hollywood projects are handed over to Vision Media. They have so many orders that they don't even care about this little fish.

However, Ulsan had a different idea. He set up a shell company called Meisi Imaging and then outsourced the projects.

"More than a dozen studios in the industry have all received orders."

"This guy really knows how to do business."

Zhou Yutang made a joke.

Film is an art, but it's also a business.

Hong Kong director Chan can make something out of a straw hat, and there's plenty of room for creativity in special effects projects as well.

However, Brother Song is indeed a top talent from Wanda Group. He seized the opportunity presented by the current popularity of young and handsome celebrities and pulled off this move.

The thorough preliminary publicity attracted a large number of passersby to support the project.

They even used the "name and ethnicity" card from their ID cards, which drew in mainstream media to report on it.

The news of the deification was widely publicized, but Zhou Yutang quickly stopped paying attention to it. While busy with the post-production of "The Wandering Earth", he did not rush to start filming "Aquaman", but instead inquired about the progress of the tribute film "My People, My Country".

After all, he was only the nominal project supervisor, and the higher-ups had high hopes for Governor Zhou, so he couldn't just slack off the whole time.

If Zuo Shandiao knew what Zhou Yutang was thinking at this moment, he would probably be so depressed that he would vomit blood.

The retired old man experienced a second spring, pouring all his passion for his twilight years into this film commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, only to find that Governor Zhou was surprisingly indifferent.

"Mr. Zhou."

"Hello, Mr. Zhou."

Today's meeting was held in Jiangdong, and Han Sanping arrived early this morning.

Other directors also arrived one after another; the directors of the unit modules in this anthology film are highly sought after.

Han Sanping is in charge of the project, and the directors of the unit modules are Xue Xiaolu, Ning Hao, Lu Yang, Wen Muye, Chen Kaige, and Xu Guangtou.

The last one, directed by Hong Kong director Benny Chan, was the segment about the important historical juncture of 97, which was spearheaded by Zhou Yutang.

It can be said that, apart from Chen Kaige,

All the directors of each segment of the anthology film have close ties with the Jiangdong faction.

Seeing the group of people greeting Zhou Yutang warmly, Chen Shiren felt a little awkward.

He also wanted to be like everyone else, otherwise he would feel a bit out of place, but he was also a little reluctant to admit it.

He could only manage a stiff smile, his expression a mixture of self-satisfaction and anticipation.

It was his wife, Mei Diaochan, who took the initiative to stand up, gracefully stepping forward to greet him warmly, saying, "Mr. Zhou, 'Dying to Survive' is truly excellent; it portrays the social responsibility of us filmmakers. My husband, Mr. Chen, has been praising it for days after watching it."

High-end interpersonal relationships often require the most primitive communication methods.

As the chief steward of the poet Chen, Chen Hong's auspicious words were truly well said.

"Mr. Chen, you flatter me. The success of 'Dying to Survive' is inseparable from the efforts of the entire team."

Zhou Yutang nodded to Chen Shiren as a greeting and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin."

He wasn't particularly close to the poet Chen, but he had dealt with Chen Hong a few times.

Now the poet couple are starting to plan for their son's future, appearing on various variety shows to pave the way for Arthur, and this time is no exception.

In the "Daytime Meteor" module led by Poet Chen, Zhou Yutang clearly saw the name Arthur.

The film and television industry is ultimately a society based on personal relationships.

Why do those with connections go to such lengths to get people into these mainstream projects?

There's a phrase called "having a strong political background and being a model citizen."

In the Chinese film and television industry, being able to participate in serious dramas or major patriotic projects is a qualification and recognition.

Because these mainstream film and television projects have the backing of higher authorities and enjoy top-notch publicity and distribution resources.

At the beginning of its release, it will be promoted through all channels, and will subsequently be broadcast in rotation during prime time on CCTV, major satellite TV channels and online platforms.

Even a supporting role in such a production can provide exposure far exceeding that of a typical commercial drama, boosting national recognition and adding another layer of prestige to one's resume.

Gaining mainstream societal recognition will make the road ahead much easier.

Time flies. On its 25th day of release, "Dying to Survive" had grossed 40.08 billion yuan.

Dominating the entire summer box office, it significantly outperformed the second-place film, Enlight Media's "Animal World," by more than 3 billion yuan.

The third and fourth films can't even catch up with the exhaust fumes. According to the prediction of Maoyan Dynamics app, plus the extended screening period of the extended key, the final box office will be about 43.62 billion!
Following "Joker", this is another film with a box office record of over 40 billion.

The entire Chinese film and television industry witnessed the terrifying achievements of the Grand Commander of Jiangdong!
Inside the movie theater at Jiangdong Entertainment.

The room was packed with people, including Lao Wang from Enlight Media and Zuo Shandiao, who came to watch the spectacle, as well as several teachers from the Film Academy and high-ranking officials from Jiangdong.

Looking at the magnificent scene on the big screen, the flickering light reflected the stunned expressions of the crowd below.

When we saw Liu Peiqiang piloting the space station and crashing it head-on into Jupiter, the resulting explosion was like a newborn hope, illuminating Earth's future.

Starting from Earth and leaving the solar system, the blue planet, trailing a luminous tail, sails into deep space.
Zhou Yutang was still immersed in the movie world until the movie ended. After a dozen seconds of silence in the room, enthusiastic applause broke out.

He then came to his senses, while Tian Zhuangzhuang beside him remained gazing up at the large screen, a feeling of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection) welling up within him:
"so good!"

"There has never been a movie of this type before."

Even Lao Wang, the old man from the light source, was visibly shocked. After a few seconds, he exclaimed with lingering satisfaction, "New Year's greetings are a sure thing."

(End of this chapter)