China Entertainment's Standout

Chapter 1043 A Long and Arduous Journey, Beating Up the Wolf Warrior

If the Jiangdong faction was indeed powerful and domineering, it was like the sun at its zenith.

The "iPartment" movie, which ruthlessly exploited its audience, undoubtedly earned it a terrible reputation.

However, the domestic animated film "The Wind Guardians," which quietly finished its theatrical run after its summer release, unexpectedly received good reviews.

It received a 7.2 rating on Douban, and online ticketing platforms such as Maoyan and Taopiaopiao also have high ratings.

However, with limited investment in promotion and marketing, it has received somewhat little attention.

After half a month in theaters, the box office barely reached 1.68 million yuan before it became unsustainable, with screenings dropping to 3% and it will soon be pulled from theaters altogether.

If it weren't for Governor Zhou's social media account mentioning it, many viewers probably wouldn't have known that there was such a movie this summer.

can only say,
The road to the rise of Chinese animation remains both arduous and long.

Interestingly, Huaqing Legend, the primary producer of the first film in the "Painting Rivers and Lakes" series, is actually the company of Tao Hong, Xu Guangtou's wife.

Since the series "Lost in..." went their separate ways, Zhou Yutang led Jiangdong to grow bigger and stronger, while Xu Guangtou also achieved his wish of upward social mobility and sat at the table of Huanxi Capital.

The two drifted apart and rarely crossed paths. Only at some banquets and award ceremonies within the industry could one hear Xu's long-lost flattery.

However, his wife, Tao Hong, gets along quite well with Liu Shishi.

This time, it was only after the eldest sister whispered in his ear that Governor Zhou finally gave his approval.

Several key social media channels controlled by the Jiangdong Group provided a certain degree of publicity support for this domestic animated film.

Regardless, this is yet another attempt by China to achieve full-process original production of domestic animation, and it deserves encouragement.

According to Zhou Yutang, at least a hundred domestic teams are involved in this project.

Some of them were previously involved in outsourcing projects for Jiang Dongjia's "Monkey King: Hero Is Back," while others were purely motivated by passion.

Liu Shishi personally attended the premiere and shared her viewing experience with him.

The story is well-told, and its use of Chinese style elements is among the best in Chinese animation.

Unfortunately, its box office performance has not been ideal compared to other domestic animated films in the past two years.

Duan Long's dream girl has high emotional intelligence; during the promotional tour, she and the main creative team expressed their gratitude in detail.

"I am a loyal fan of the Painting Rivers and Lakes series. I often watch Painting Rivers and Lakes with my daughter, so having the opportunity to become the producer of The Wind Whisperer is also fulfilling a fan's wish."

Thanks to the hard work of all the staff, it was truly not easy to bring "The Wind Whisperer" to everyone's attention. Now I understand the incredible determination that CEO Zhou and October had to bring "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" to life.
"Thank you Shishi for your help, and thank you Mr. Zhou for your tremendous support, as well as many other friends. I hope our domestic animation will have a bright future."

After Jiangdong had exhausted its summer blockbuster season, various film and television companies finally became active again.

Wang, the founder of Enlight Media, seized the opportunity and made a fortune with "The Island," which topped the daily box office charts for several consecutive days.

Zhou Xun and Chen Kun's co-founded company, Dong Shen Future, also produced a crime film, "Keep Silent," which held its premiere later this month.

These past few days, with Governor Zhou seemingly indulging in his spiritual practice, entertainment reporters in the industry have been celebrating as if it were New Year's Day.

They were spotted having a late-night snack together last night, and today the perfect couple was caught together at the premiere of "Keep Silent".

"Mr. Zhou, will Yifei be appearing in 'The Captain'?"

"Ask her yourself."

Zhou Yutang's casual reply earned him a charmingly disdainful eye roll from Liu Yifei.

Ms. Liu replied formally, "Currently, my focus is still on promoting 'Snow in the Sky.' I will let everyone know if there are any plans later."

There's a lot of online discussion about Liu Yifei playing a flight attendant, but Ms. Liu herself isn't very interested.

But since the arm can't twist the thigh, he reluctantly let Governor Zhou experience it first in private.

Yes, it is indeed very moisturizing.

The divine couple naturally became the focus of attention, and reporters asked more questions about "Snow in the Sky".

After all, Governor Zhou is elusive and rarely seen. Some people have counted that during the broadcast of the TV series, including live broadcasts, he made a total of five public promotions. Naturally, he couldn't let this opportunity pass.

"Mr. Zhou, will there be any additional episodes of 'Snowy Mountain'?"

"It depends on the arrangements made by the website and the TV station."

When asked by reporters, Zhou Yutang didn't keep them in suspense: "If nothing unexpected happens, the broadcast pace should be accelerated later on."

The eyes of the media present lit up instantly, like incandescent light bulbs.

Another breaking news story in the film and television industry is on the horizon.

The entire sequel to "Snowy Mountain" consists of 90 episodes. At a pace of two episodes per day, it can easily maintain its popularity for two and a half months.

Now that "Snow in the Wind" continues to be a hit, after the mid-term setup, several plot lines are coming to an end, and it is gradually approaching the final stage.

Xu Fengnian ascended the stage, was crowned king, and took up the banner.

The masters of Liyang Sect are heading to Beiliang. A storm is brewing, and a thrilling battle, the climax of the entire series, is about to begin.

During this period, many netizens have been leaving messages on Zhou Dudu's social media account to petition and urge him to update more chapters. Zhou Dudu took it seriously and told Jiang Xuerou about adding more chapters.

After my flowers bloom, a hundred flowers will be killed.

As long as "Snow in the Sky" is still on stage, it will dominate all the viewership on the small screen.

The executives of those TV stations looked worried, and even the two giants, iQiyi and Youku, were dejected.

Zhou Xun's S-level blockbuster drama "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace" and Yang Mi's female-centric blockbuster drama "Legend of Fuyao".
They all have to step aside.

Now that the "Snowy Mountain" series has finished its run, Zhou Yutang intends to speed up the broadcast pace, also to leave enough time for the promotion of Sweet Princess's "Si Teng".

If the viewers who received the extra broadcast notice and thought that Governor Zhou was spoiling his fans found out about this, they would probably curse Zhou the dog to vent their anger.

Zhou Yutang always treated Jing Tian differently.

After all, having tasted the sweetness, it was truly like a delightful intoxication.
The emperor's orders were absolute, so Jiang Xuerou coordinated with the television station and the website.

Back at the premiere of "Keep Silent", Zhou Yutang did not steal the spotlight. He sat in the audience with Liu Yifei for the entire time, chatting and laughing.

Director Zhou Ke is a teacher in the Directing Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and a veteran in the industry.

The biggest star among them is none other than Zhou Xun, who has teamed up with two powerful actors, Wu Zhenyu and Zu Feng, and also brought along Zhang Jingyi, a newly signed actress from Dong Shen Entertainment.

"He does look somewhat like Zhou Ye."

Perhaps she caught face blindness from Governor Zhou, Liu Yifei also expressed a similar sentiment.

Zhang Jingyi is only a supporting actress in this drama; the main roles are played by Zhou Xun, Wu Zhenyu, and Zu Feng.

The three actors delivered natural and convincing performances, but the script lacked suspense and mystery, and the plot twists felt somewhat forced.

Compared to Jiangdong's similar work "Silent Witness" from a few years ago, it is clearly inferior.

Before the premiere ceremony was even finished, Zhou Yutang and Miss Liu left early to avoid being caught by entertainment reporters.

As soon as Zhou Yutang arrived at the parking lot, his phone buzzed and then the screen lit up:

"Beep beep, what does Fu Bingxin, the eldest princess of Cehua, want on the phone?"

"Boss, Mr. Fu would like to invite you to the premiere of 'Anti-Corruption Storm 3'."

"Please cancel it for me."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yutang added, "Never mind, let Sister Shuang go."

Among the films that dared not directly confront the two giants of Jiangdong, choosing instead to postpone their release and try to steal a spot at the tail end of the summer season, is "Anti-Corruption Storm 3".

After all these years, Hong Kong movies are still stuck on the same old police, gangster, and spy tropes.

However, in addition to the production companies of the previous film, Cehua Films also joined the fray this time, along with Yu Zheng from Bona Film Group, creating a huge buzz for the film's promotion. Relying on the hardworking Louis Koo and his team to fend off the onslaught of imported blockbusters in late August will be incredibly difficult.

With the summer blockbuster season over, the stage is now set for imported films.

Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" and Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" will both hit the Chinese film market in late August, prompting the film industry to cry wolf once again.

Over the years, without Jiangdong Entertainment taking the lead, we would always have been ravaged by imported blockbusters.
The film crew of "Squid Game" in the outskirts of Beijing.

Wen Muye, the director of the 70th anniversary tribute film segment, was pulled over by the Grand Commander Diao Kouduo and was talking to Wu Jing about the filming.

Wu Jing, dressed in a green, retro-style school uniform, had his face contorted in a frown.

"Good grief, he's really getting beaten up?"

"Brother Jing, let's make a sacrifice. That's how the script is set up."

"Could this be a scene your boss added himself?"

Wu Jing asked with a suspicious look in his eyes.

From his debut in Wolf Warrior, he often played ruthless characters. His role as A Fei in Lin Xian'er was unforgivable. In SPL, the blond assassin A Jie was ruthless and merciless. And in Wolf Fang, he showed early signs of Wolf Warrior form, capable of taking on a hundred men.
The only exception was when he encountered the Grand Commander of Jiangdong, where he was constantly getting beaten up.

The Wolf Warrior series features the iconic "Wolf Warrior vs. Dragon King" meme, where Wolf Warrior is officially recognized as the only man Wolf Warrior can't defeat.

Unexpectedly, in the drama "Squid Game", the memories of the dead came back again, and Governor Zhou was about to teach Wu Jing a lesson again.

Wu Jing suspected that Zhou Yutang did it on purpose, but he had no evidence.

"Brother Jing, we really don't have that."

Wen Muye pushed up his glasses and explained seriously, "They're all ideas from the ground floor of the creative center. For the sake of work, we can just bear with it."

Meng, a staff member next to her, tried very hard to suppress her laughter, but in the end she couldn't hold it in.

Given Wu Jing's status, he is undoubtedly a top-tier actor in the Chinese film industry, second only to the Grand Commander.

Generally speaking, someone of his stature would only appear on the big screen and would never take on a TV series, but Governor Zhou's invitation is a different story.

When is your boss coming?

"Let's have a meeting around five o'clock."

Having followed Governor Zhou all the way, Wen Muyue even learned the habit of summarizing in meetings.

He stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "It might be a bit tough for everyone to work overtime these next few months. This drama is expected to be finished within two months."

"This afternoon is Jing Ge's scene, and tonight we'll move to the subway station. Boss Zhou has a very tight schedule, so we need to finish filming his scenes first."

"Next month's filming will be concentrated in Yancheng, and the logistics department will go there first."

The scenes in the drama "Squid Game" were not filmed in a single location.

Because the show features many death games, it is composed of numerous meticulously constructed real locations and large sets.

Before filming began, Lin Liang and his logistics team specially built a surreal, colorful playground and a giant robot doll in a park in Yancheng.

As for why it was chosen to be Yancheng?

Please, this is Governor Zhou's hometown.

Now that he has ascended to immortality, it is only natural for him to give back to his hometown within his capabilities.

Poet Chen often builds cities when he undertakes projects, while the Grand Commander is not that extravagant, but his current traffic-generating effect is nothing short of miraculous.

It is precisely with this in mind that the local government in Yancheng has approved the park renovation plan.

We plan to collaborate with Jiangdong to transform the entire filming location into a film-related theme park, but that's a story for another time.

The initial filming consisted mainly of Wu Jing's shots, and it went relatively smoothly.

Around midnight, the film crew moved to the subway station.

The subway had already stopped operating, and after communicating with the relevant departments, Jiang Dong easily obtained a filming permit.

Watching the excitement is an inherent part of the Chinese people's nature. The subway staff who were temporarily reassigned to work overtime not only had no complaints, but were all full of energy and enjoying the gossip to the fullest.

This is the first time I've met a film crew from Jiangdong Entertainment!

Although photos weren't allowed, personally experiencing close contact with so many celebrities was enough to make it a topic of bragging rights with friends.

Especially when they saw Commander Zhou arrive in a high-end, bespoke suit, the onlookers practically popped their eyes out of their sockets:
"Holy crap, what's this about the Grand Commander of Jiangdong?!"

"Didn't you watch the last press conference? I think he was just making a cameo appearance."

"."

After Jiang Dong officially announced "Squid Game" to Bilibili, he did a good job of keeping it a secret. Apart from the cast list, not a single word was leaked.

After filming began, the production team issued a gag order, refusing all media access.

Everyone only knew that Leng Feng from Wolf Warrior would strike hard, and thought it was some kind of patriotic movie.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise: the wild Zhou Dudu appeared, immediately causing a small commotion at the scene.

"Mr. Zhou."

"Mr. Zhou, you've arrived."

The crew members, led by Wen Muye, also stood up to greet him.

After exchanging greetings, Zhou Yutang took advantage of a break while getting her makeup done to go over the script with Wu Jing.

Seeing his constipated expression, Zhou Yutang chuckled, "What's wrong, is it difficult?"

His scenes in this drama are all concentrated in the scene at the beginning of the first episode where he meets Wu Jing at the subway station.

It was planned as the main promotional segment for the entire series, aiming to make a strong first impression.

"Could you please not slap my face later?"

Wu Jing had been holding it in for a long time when he suddenly blurted out this sentence, causing the staff around him to burst into laughter.

Zhou Yutang chuckled and said, "It's all for work, stop being so girly."

"Who's being effeminate?"

Wu Jing couldn't stand it any longer.

Joking aside, he is still a very professional actor.

Back in the days of the "SPL" series, I had to endure all sorts of dangerous stunts with my own body. For the "Wolf Warrior" series, I went through grueling military training, so this was nothing compared to that.

Soon, all departments completed their adjustments, and the crew began formal filming.

The noisy subway platform, under the power of the lighting, appears slightly cold and dim.

Camera 2 focuses intently on Zhou Yutang, dressed in a suit and carrying a suitcase, as he emerges from the shadows with a faint, mysterious smile on his face.

"Want to play a game? You'll get money if you win."

He approached Wu Jing and, with a smile, tossed in the bait.

The latter was at a low point in his life, and he was indescribably dejected.

Hearing this,

Wu Jing seemed to have grasped at a last straw as a drowning man, suddenly raising his head, his throat bobbing, making a clear swallowing motion.
"How do you want to play?"

(End of this chapter)