China Entertainment's Standout

Chapter 1033 Soaring straight up ninety thousand miles, a true national hero is naturally elegant.

"President Zhou, Chairman Ren is asking about the arrangements for the celebration banquet for 'Dying to Survive'."

"When?"

"On the evening of the 2nd."

If you calculate the time, it's exactly one month since "Dying to Survive" was released.

During the release of "Dying to Survive," a series of positive news emerged, boosting the stock price of Shanghai Film Group. Ren Zhonglun must have been itching to pop the champagne.

Zhou Yutang calmly said, "I'll make time to go there. You can have Sister Shuang handle the rest."

A roadshow is out of the question, and as for a celebration banquet, Governor Zhou wouldn't care either. He's already too busy managing the fishponds to handle anything else; just showing his face there would be the limit.

While Liu Tianxian was away recording a variety show and promoting her drama, Zhou Dudu accompanied the top star and then accompanied Da Meiyuan.

I also became a stay-at-home dad, watching the box office of "Hello Mr. Billionaire" skyrocket.

"Call him uncle."

Hello, Uncle~~

The little girl in his arms said in a childish voice.

"Bubu is so good."

Zhou Yutang couldn't help but pinch Jia Jingwen's youngest daughter's chubby little face.

The little girl blinked her big eyes, her innocent and adorable expression making Governor Zhou unable to resist smiling, and he hugged her in his arms.

"How's the show going lately?"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Zhou. They took great care of me and Bubu. I made a lot of friends and had a very happy time."

Jia Jingwen recently took on a role in the Hunan TV show "Super Mom 3," and she and her daughter are now living in Beijing.

Making money by appearing on variety shows is one thing, but more importantly, it's about spending time with Da Meiyuan and her daughter, and maintaining the close friendship between the two beauties from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

The talent shows of the first half of this year, led by "Produce 101", attracted everyone's attention.

In addition, Mingjie's several popular shows continue to be popular.

It's worth mentioning that this celebrity parenting observation reality show, produced by Mango TV, has a fairly stable fanbase and its popularity should not be underestimated.

In today's era of declining viewership ratings, an average viewership of nearly 1.5% is certainly a rare hit.

Jia Jingwen is undoubtedly a beautiful and intelligent woman, but in front of Zhou Yutang, she always has to flatter and fawn over him.

Zhou Yutang chatted casually for a few minutes, then received a call from a leader. He handed the child back to the young woman Zhao Min and went to his study.

About half an hour later, Da Meiyuan brought in a bowl of refreshing chilled mung bean and lily soup.

She placed the bowl on the table and gently massaged Zhou Yutang's shoulders, listening to him discuss something with Li Shuang, which seemed to be related to tax matters.

After hanging up the phone, Da Meiyuan sat directly on his lap and couldn't help but ask,

"Are they really going to make a move?"

"Hmm, this is going to be interesting."

Zhou Yutang took a sip of mung bean and lily soup and felt refreshed and invigorated.

He leaned back, his head sinking into the beautiful woman's soft bosom.

Longxuan, together with several departments including the State Taxation Administration and the Film Bureau, held a large-scale meeting.

Next,
This is a crackdown on the problems of dual contracts and various forms of tax evasion in the entertainment industry.

This storm had little impact on the Jiangdong Group, which adheres to the principle of paying taxes according to law.

But for many celebrities in the industry, it was nothing short of a thunderbolt.
Two more days have passed, and the summer movie season is in full swing.

The entire film and television industry has become completely numb.

After "Dying to Survive" became a box office hit, "Hello Mr. Billionaire" followed suit, surging at the box office and showing no less momentum than "Dying to Survive".

"Hello Mr. Billionaire" has been showing for three days, with almost every prime-time screening sold out and daily box office revenue consistently exceeding 3 million yuan.

The emotions that had been suppressed for nearly a month by "Dying to Survive" were finally released.

The internet was filled with laughter and joy, and the number of screenings in theaters also increased accordingly. The box office grossed 10.32 billion yuan in its opening weekend, and the future looks very promising.

By comparison,

Hua Yijia's Di Renjie became somewhat depressed and listless.

Many people compare Zhao Youting to Zhu Yilong, but there is no comparison at all!
One is one of the three kings under the emperor in the Chinese entertainment industry, with a truly outstanding record; the other is a second-generation star who was promoted to the top by the combined efforts of capital in the entertainment industry in Taiwan.

Even Feng Shaofeng, a top actor in the entertainment industry, helped carry the sedan chair.

However, the appeal of this film by Tsui Hark, which has a strong personal touch, doesn't lie in the actors.

It's fair to say it's incredibly imaginative, and the bizarre and magical special effects are simply amazing.

However, the overall plot logic has serious flaws, and many viewers who went to the cinema expecting a suspenseful detective story are probably quite disappointed.

Because there's practically no character development, and the crime-solving aspect is almost nonexistent; it relies entirely on overpowered abilities and the protagonist's halo.
With a box office of 2.96 million yuan in its opening weekend, the market's performance paled in comparison to the neighboring film and television industry, which broke 10 billion yuan in three days and dominated the headlines across the internet.

Based on the box office dynamic predictions given by Maoyan's data model, the final box office of "The Four Heavenly Kings" is expected to be around 6 million yuan.

This is far from the 10 billion yuan guaranteed minimum that the CEO has boldly claimed, and can even be said to be an unattainable goal.
The market's sudden downturn meant that previous threats like targeting Jiangdong were no longer valid, and the two leaders of Huayi acted as if nothing had happened.

But the worst off wasn't Di Renjie; director Jiang Wen's final Beiyang trilogy film, "Hidden Man," was completely buried.

First came the overwhelming success of "Dying to Survive," followed by the phenomenal success of "Hello Mr. Billionaire."

There was absolutely no chance to catch their breath. After the person in charge handed over the dragon head staff, the screenings of "Hidden Man" had dropped to less than 3%.

"Who could have imagined before its release that Jiang Wen's final dance in his Beiyang trilogy might not even make it to the end of its theatrical run?"

Zhou Yutang glanced at the box office and saw that it had barely reached 4.65 million yuan before it could no longer continue.

With an investment starting at 3 million yuan for this film, Mr. Yang, the boss behind Yinghuang, has truly lost everything.

The money he made from his previous projects, such as "Kowloon Walled City," "Chasing the Dragon," and "Project Gutenberg," was all lost in one go.
It's true what they say: the money in the Chinese entertainment industry is spent within the industry, and nobody wants to take a single penny home.
Huayi, conference room.

The atmosphere was somber and gloomy.

Because "The Four Heavenly Kings" failed to meet expectations, given the current situation, let alone reaching 15 billion, even 10 billion in box office revenue is a pipe dream.

Losing money here is one thing, but in the stock market, it's a huge negative factor.

In just a few days, Huayi Company's stock price has plummeted.

Those present were all stakeholders, and everyone wore a worried expression, a far cry from the confident and passionate demeanor they had displayed before the film's release.

In any situation like this, where things are going against the grain, someone always steps up to save face.

Seeing the grim expressions on the faces of the two Mr. Wangs, the marketing manager stood up and spoke, offering a very reasonable explanation:

"Jiangdong's marketing this time was too aggressive. The transition between the two films' release dates was very well done. 'Xihong City' just happened to follow 'Dying to Survive,' and the market sentiment resonated, directly boosting the box office."

In addition, Wanda has been manipulating the film scheduling, targeting us for quite some time now.

The quality of Director Xu's film speaks for itself; good wine needs no bush. Wait a few more days, let word-of-mouth spread, and maybe it'll have a chance to make a comeback.

In conclusion: This defeat was not due to any fault of the company; all departments did their best.
Just like when anglers can't catch fish and blame it on external conditions like temperature and water pressure, the answer is always the same: there are too many objective factors.

"Yes, Mr. Wang."

The senior executives of Huayizhong all nodded in agreement, but in reality, they were quite dejected.

After watching the heavy-handed film "Dying to Survive," audiences needed to relax and de-stress, and Jiangdong was perfectly positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.

Zhou Dudu has integrated all channels in the entertainment industry, from upstream to downstream. Jiangdong Cinemas ranks among the top five nationwide, and Wanda is a strategic partner in Jiangdong, giving him a significant advantage. As a top figure in the Chinese entertainment industry, Zhou Dudu's popularity is at its peak. Making cameo appearances is one thing, but he's also held a concert within a movie, and with Rocket Girls' new song, he's completely ignited the buzz. This is truly remarkable.

With favorable timing, location, and people, and with "Xihong City" soaring to great heights, where would it find a chance to make a comeback?

Regardless of whether it's realistic or not, at least the emotional value is there.

The muttering Mr. Wang's expression softened slightly, but Mr. Wang, who was sitting high in the main seat, spoke in a deep voice: "There's no need to add more funds for subsequent publicity. Keep a low profile for now, and put Director Feng's 'Cell Phone 2' project on hold for the time being."

Anyway, it's not like we haven't lost before.

Since the scheduling conflict, when has Jiangdong not been beating us up?
"Mr. Wang, this..."

"No need to say more, let's wait until things calm down and then it'll be settled."

The king raised his hand and said decisively, "And as for Zhang Guoli, the accounts that need to be settled must be settled clearly."

Why is Zhang Guoli suddenly going to appear on a variety show?

The beautiful woman in his arms was gentle and tender, curled up in Zhou Yutang's arms like a lazy cat.

The pregnant woman's figure had become somewhat fuller, and Governor Zhou couldn't help but admire her, gently combing her soft, fragrant black hair with his fingers, before shaking his head:

"Old Zhang is in a bit of trouble."

Zhang Guoli wants to appear on variety shows, not to showcase his talent, but simply because he needs money.

Everyone knows that celebrities in the entertainment industry make money more easily than breathing.

However, there are different speeds to making money.

The fastest and most lucrative way to make money is through variety shows and TV dramas, which directly affect a person's base of popularity and subsequent advertising endorsements.

With Lao Zhang's qualifications and status, he was living a very comfortable life running his own film and television company.

Changsheng Film & Television began its decline after signing a performance-based agreement with Huayi Brothers in 2013, receiving 2.52 million yuan from Huayi.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. And are the two kings of Huayi not easy to deal with?

Of this huge sum of 2.52 million yuan, a large portion will be used to purchase shares of Huayi Brothers, forming a perfect closed loop of "money returning to the company and shares returning to the individual".

When Huayi Brothers was at its peak, it seemed poised to swallow up the entire Chinese entertainment industry and dominate all the major players in the industry.

Old Zhang figured he wouldn't lose out no matter how he calculated it, so he readily agreed.

However, he must guarantee that Changsheng Film & Television's annual net profit will not be less than 3000 million yuan for the next five years; otherwise, he must make up the difference in cash or stock.

Now it's all about capital; Old Zhang's old tricks aren't working anymore.

In addition, several projects of the company ran into problems, resulting in the failure of the performance guarantee, and now it is time to pay out money.

In the past, given the long-standing friendship between the two sides, they could have had some time to recover. But now, Huayi Brothers is embroiled in a tax scandal, and "The Four Heavenly Kings" is facing losses, so the situation is not good.

That would require a drastic measure, urgently needing to draw blood from a pre-stored blood pack.

Zhang Guoli is this blood bag.

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, Lao Zhang easily amassed a fortune of over 100 million yuan.

However, most of these assets are fixed assets, and the company cannot come up with that much cash to repay them all at once.

That's why he swallowed his pride and made the call to Zhou Yutang. He didn't ask for money, but the sixty-year-old man was about to bravely venture into the entertainment industry again.
Back then, Zhang Guoli's mentorship of Zhou Dudu was considered a remarkable story in the entertainment industry.

After that, Governor Zhou took him to film and television projects, which earned him at least tens of millions of yuan, thus repaying the favor.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yutang still called Zhang Yibei: "How's the mentor list for the second season of 'The Actor' coming along?"

"Boss, we're still in the initial communication stage, and we're still negotiating with a few candidates."

Zhang Yibei responded quickly.

“Save a spot for Zhang Guoli.”

Zhou Yutang's tone was calm yet resolute.

"Understood! I'll follow up immediately."

Zhang Yibei, who was already the vice president of Mingjie Media, immediately understood.

Since the Grand Commander of Jiangdong has personally spoken,

Therefore, this mentor position is considered to have been decided in advance.

The snow scene continues to be a popular broadcast.

After you finish singing, I'll take the stage.

After Brother Long finished filming, it was soon Cao Changqing of Western Chu's turn to shine.

In the original novel, Cao Guanzi's arrogant act was placed in the later, concluding stage. However, in the TV series version, the Western Chu storyline was brought forward to make the overall plot more coherent.

Cao Guanzi had been working for years to restore his kingdom, secretly contacting the remnants of Western Chu, cultivating his own faction, and even making a deal with General Gu Jiantang.

But he eventually realized that even if the restoration of the kingdom was successful, the newly established Western Chu would not last long.

The Li Yang Dynasty has a solid foundation and strong power, while the Northern Mang is also eyeing it covetously.

Even if the country is forcibly restored, it will inevitably trigger continuous wars, plunging the world into turmoil once again and causing people to be displaced.

This contradicts his original intention to vindicate the Empress of Western Chu.

It is not what he desires to gain a hollow reputation by sacrificing the blood of the common people.

He calculated everything, but in the end, the blame fell on himself.

Cao Changqing made a high-stakes gamble with Huang Longshi, which gave him the opportunity to lay the foundation for Jiang Ni's journey to the Land of Immortals.

His final move was to treat himself as a pawn, entering the game himself and choosing to attack Tai'an City, the capital of the Liyang Dynasty, alone.

Tai'an City was the core of the Liyang Dynasty and was heavily guarded, but Cao Changqing still resolutely went there.

At this moment, he shifted from Confucianism and Taoism to Hegemony, and his cultivation reached the realm of a terrestrial immortal.

At this moment, Cao Changqing, having reached the pinnacle of his power, was arguably the strongest among the four grandmasters in the world!
Facing the siege of sixty-eight top masters, including Wu Jian from the Wu Family Sword Tomb, Chai Qingshan from the Eastern Yue Sword Pool, and Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, he displayed what it means to be invincible.

None of these masters could get within ten feet of him; they were all repelled.

No one could stop them.

The old swordsman pierced through 2,600 armor with a single sword strike, becoming a legend.

Cao Changqing also had an outstanding record during his prime.

Thousands of cavalrymen sent out of the city by the Li Yang Dynasty to intercept them were swept off their horses by the righteous energy.

The rain of arrows fired by the archers of the Liyang Imperial Guard's Divine Archery Battalion triggered Cao Changqing's protective aura, causing the arrows to bounce back, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, and wailing echoed across the field.

The terrifying combat power of the terrestrial immortals terrified the deep palace of the Li Yang royal court.

Cao Changqing, the blue-clad warrior from Western Chu, did not enter the forbidden area himself, but simply sat down on the green hills outside Tai'an City.

More than two hundred black and white chess pieces hovered densely around his body, playing against himself, a scene of unparalleled elegance and refinement.

The budget was burning through cash, and Vision Media's top-notch capabilities were truly inspiring.

Finally, the position where Qingyi casually placed the piece was exactly the same as the position where she played chess with the Queen of Western Chu years ago.

The scene flashed back perfectly to the time when the Queen of Western Chu was playing chess. Chen Shu, who played the Queen of Western Chu, frowned and raised her eyes, exuding femininity. She truly lived up to her reputation as a beauty of the Spring and Autumn Period.

Cao Changqing, at the level of a terrestrial immortal, remains unstoppable.

The black chess piece he placed also flew through the air at the same time, smashing Emperor Li Yang's dragon throne, giving everyone a sense of exhilaration.

A true national hero is naturally elegant!
(End of this chapter)