It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 1329 Whose youth looks like this? Give me back my money! Give me back my money!
"The launch conference of "Return of the South Sea" caused a sensation in the film and television industry. Will the production level of domestic fantasy blockbusters be raised to a new level again?"

“Warm congratulations to White Snake 2: Rise of the Green Snake for becoming the first film to break 10 billion yuan in box office this summer, adding another outstanding masterpiece to the domestic animated film industry.”

"Alibaba, Tencent Penguin Pictures, Huaying, Polybona and other companies jointly announced: The myth/action/epic blockbuster "The First Part of the Investiture of the Gods" directed by Wu Ershan and starring Fei Xiang, Li Xuejian, Huang Bo, Yu Shi and others is expected to be released in domestic theaters in 2023. Stay tuned."

"Feiyue Films released an announcement: The contemporary drama "Wind Blows Half Summer", starring Zhao Liying, Ou Hao, Li Guangjie, Liu Wei and others, has officially started filming."

"The action/thriller film "355" starring Fan Bingbing is officially scheduled to be released in the United States on January 2022, 1."

……

July is coming to an end, and the summer vacation season has officially reached its peak.

Unfortunately, only a few can reap the benefits.

To put it bluntly, audiences are not so easily fooled, and coupled with the economic downturn, everyone's consumption decisions have become more cautious.

Audiences who enter the cinema are no longer satisfied with gorgeous special effects and simple plots, but are more eager to see stories with depth and resonance.

Even users who turn on the TV or video platform will repeatedly consider the massive list of films, using playback volume and word of mouth as important criteria for screening.

Standing at this critical juncture, film and television producers are beginning to fall into unprecedented anxiety.

For example, the investors of "1921" are Tencent Pictures and Shanghai Film Group.

The two companies really wanted to boost the box office of this movie, but they themselves were not up to the task.

"The single-day box office is only 135 million, and the cumulative total box office is just over 4.5 million. The box office potential has been exhausted..."

When the secretary reported the data, Ren Zhonglun let out a long sigh, and the white hair on his temples was particularly dazzling under the cold white light of the office.

He stroked the planning proposal of "1921" on the corner of the table, and many images flashed through his mind.

In the early stages of the project preparation, the teams from Shanghai Film Group and Tencent Pictures worked for three full months, trying to break the inherent framework of mainstream films with innovative narrative methods.

However, their efforts ultimately failed to withstand the wave of the market.

"Mr. Ren? Tencent Pictures sent a message asking if we still need to apply for a key extension?" The secretary's voice was somewhat cautious.

Ren Zhonglun waved his hand and subconsciously glanced at the old photos hanging on the wall.

The high spirits when participating in the filming of "The Opium War" at the end of the last century, the confidence when leading the creation of "College Entrance Examination 1977" in the millennium... those memories suddenly became distant and vague.

Today, facing the impact of short videos and the iteration of audience aesthetics, he finds it increasingly difficult to understand the "immersive narrative" and "secondary creative communication" that young people are pursuing.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that at last year's shareholders' meeting, a producer born after 95 proposed using metaverse technology to recreate historical scenes.

At that time, he habitually rejected it from the perspective of cost and risk, but soon after, he saw that a new technology company used a similar concept to spark heated discussions among the public.

The lag in market feedback was like a heavy hammer, awakening his long-standing industry intuition!
The era when you could predict market trends based on experience...is now truly over!
"Buzz!"

The vibration of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. Ren Zhonglun looked down and saw that it was a message from a board member, whose words subtly revealed his concerns about the subsequent planning of the project.

Ren Zhonglun pinched his sore temples, sighed, and then instructed his secretary: "Notify them to hold a handover meeting next week."

"Mr. Ren?!" The secretary's eyes suddenly widened.

"No need to say more."

Ren Zhonglun waved his hands, and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

He recalled the scene in "1921" where the ancestors resolutely passed on the flame, and it coincided with his mood at this moment.

Perhaps, as Wang Jianer said, the progress of the industry requires the exit and rebirth of generations.

"Don't let me down!"

Ren Zhonglun murmured to himself, looking out the window at the increasingly prosperous Lujiazui.

In the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling windows, I, who once led my team to sweep the Chinese-language film industry and push Shanghai-style films to new heights, now seemed a little dazed in the mottled light and shadow.

He picked up his phone and found Han Sanping's number.

"Hello?" The call was quickly connected.

"I'm ready to quit."

Han Sanping was puzzled: "Why don't you just quit? What does it have to do with me?"

"Please help me arrange it. I also need to go to the audit department."

“Can’t you just stay home and grow old?”

"You can be rehired! Why can't I?"

"Hey? I think you are the same." Han Sanping was so angry that she laughed, "When I was in charge of China Film, you liked to argue with me. Now that I'm retired and re-employed, you still want to argue with me? Tell me yourself, aren't you sick?"

"I don't care, just find a solution for me, or I'll call you every day to complain about you!"

"..."

Han Sanping had no choice but to respond, "Okay, okay, okay, can't I arrange it for you? Let's make it clear first! Don't mess around."

Ren Zhonglun laughed: "Don't worry, those that should be reviewed will definitely be reviewed, and those that shouldn't be reviewed will be useless even if the gods come. I understand."

"Get lost."

Han Sanping cursed with a smile and hung up the phone.

I got up and went to the big boss's office, and I took care of this little thing smoothly.

But when he returned and sat behind his desk, he suddenly had the illusion that the bullet he had fired many years ago had hit him accurately today.

Back then, he and his previous leader Tong Gang had put a lot of effort into getting rid of those corrupt officials in the audit department and preventing them from continuing to cause harm.

But today, he himself sits in the audit department.

And there is Ren Zhonglun!
Once that guy comes over, won’t he form a small group with him again?
"Damn it! I hope we don't become termites one day!"

He muttered to himself, looking at the "Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty" sent by Feiyue Films on the table, and silently signed his name in the lower right corner.

"boom--"

The red seal fell, and four large characters were clearly visible.

【examination passed】

Then he looked at another document.

It was sent by my subordinates, and it was the film review notice for the movie "Flowers in the Dust" which was re-edited by Brother Chen Kai.

When he opened it, his brows immediately frowned.

Too much!
So many questions!
Even after re-cutting it remains the same.

All the things that shouldn’t be filmed were included in the film. Isn’t this nonsense?
…………

In the blink of an eye, there are only three days left in July.

On the morning of the 29th, Chen Fei rushed back to Yanjing from Shanxi Province to attend the premiere of "Raging Fire".

The film is produced by Golden Harvest and Feiyue Films in collaboration with Yinghuang, with Zhao Wenzhuo, Nicholas Tse and Jing Tian as the co-stars.

Just the lineup of investors and leading actors alone is far from comparable to "Summer of Future" produced by Alibaba Pictures.

"Where's Yifei? Didn't she come over?"

Watching Chen Fei walk across the red carpet and come in alone, Jing Tian, ​​who was standing at the door welcoming guests, came forward curiously.

Fade Chen shook his head and explained, "No, I came here alone. She had some important scenes to shoot these few days and couldn't leave."

"Ok."

Jing Tian's tone seemed a little disappointed, but his expression was actually quite upbeat.

Chen Fei felt uncomfortable being stared at by her scorching eyes, but fortunately Zhao Wenzhuo came over at this time, greeted him, and helped him out of the predicament invisibly.

"Director Chen!"

Zhao Wenzhuo came forward in a suit and tie, his back straight, and even sweat on his palms when he shook hands with Chen Fei.

His development in recent years has not been very good, especially after he was fooled by Liu Zhenwei into filming "Kung Fu League", which directly destroyed the "Ip Man" fan base that he had accumulated before.

As for later, due to its own huge controversy, its cooperation with Feiyue Film and Television has become less and less.

Being able to participate in the filming of "Raging Fire" this time can be regarded as a signal of returning to Feiyue Film and Television.

He heard from Huo Qigang that the role of "Zhang Chongbang" was chosen for him by Chen Fei, and said that he wanted to give him another chance.

So, facing the mentor who changed his destiny, he was nervous and excited, and even began to stutter.

Chen Fei saw his nervousness and joked with a smile: "I heard that you recently recorded a variety show and formed a boy band? Is it true?"

Zhao Wenzhuo smiled a little embarrassedly when he heard this, and explained: "It's a program on Mango TV called "Brothers Who Overcome All Troubles"."

"Sing and dance?"

"No, no, it's a singing performance." "Haha, I'll have to check it out then, it sounds quite interesting."

"Sisters Who Make Waves", which was launched by Mango TV last year, was very popular and made a lot of money.

Now it has launched "Brother Who Overcomes Troubles", which has invited Chen Xiaochun, Hu Haiquan, Black Panther Band, Beyond and others, and has gained high popularity and traffic.

When Chen Fei occasionally browses Douyin, he often sees related news.

When talking about this topic, he suddenly thought that it would be time for Youku to make some innovations in its own variety shows.

The popularity of "Running Man" and "Go Fighting" is clearly declining, which is not a good sign.

Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard two voices greeting me.

"Director Chen."

"Director Chen."

Chen Fei turned around and saw Huo Wenxi leading Nicholas Tse appearing behind him.

"Director Yang didn't come?"

"No, he's not in good health, and flying is too painful for him."

"Is that so? Then please ask Mr. Huo to say hello for me."

"Don't worry, it will happen."

After chatting with Huo Wenxi for a few words, Fade Chen turned to look at Nicholas Tse with a faint smile on his face. "I heard from Boss Yang that you are not going to be in the entertainment industry anymore. Are you going to be a chef?"

Nicholas Tse froze in place as if the pause button had been pressed. After a while, he scratched his head and explained, "Being a chef is just a hobby. In recent years, I have mainly been developing music."

"Okay." Fade Chen reached out and patted his shoulder. "Boss Yang asked me to give you a chance. Take it. The action actors in Hong Kong are all old. It's up to you young people to do it next."

"All right."

Nicholas Tse nodded heavily, but he felt very uncomfortable.

He is 41 years old this year, which means he has already entered the ranks of middle-aged men.

However, there are really no newcomers who can emerge in the Hong Kong film and television circles, so he is still being treated as a newcomer.

This is fucked up!
The key point is that he is five years older than Chen Fei!
He felt so ashamed that his face turned red.

Especially at this moment, Chen Long who came over added: "Tingfeng is very serious in filming the action scenes. I think he is the future star of Hong Kong movies!"

Nicholas Tse: I'm already 41! What's the point of being a future star?
…………

At 11 o'clock, with the entry of all guests and lucky fans, the premiere of "Raging Fire" officially kicked off.

The giant screen lights up, the sound of sirens tears through the rainy night, and Inspector Zhang Chongbang, played by Zhao Wenzhuo, has an eagle-like gaze.

When chasing gangsters on the streets of Hong Kong, every time he leaped over the railings, there was a fierce sense of oppression, and the sweat stains between the folds of his suit made the audience seem to smell the scent of danger.

Nicholas Tse's character Qiu Gangao portrayed the madness and tragedy perfectly.

In the close-up shot of him stroking his pocket watch, the broken lens reflects his distorted face, which shows both the madness of being crushed by fate and the nostalgia for past glory.

When he confronted Zhao Wenzhuo in the church, holding up the blood-stained cross in the scarlet candlelight and roaring hoarsely "this world will not change", the emotional tension was very much there.

Jing Tian’s performance was equally stunning.

On the dusty face, the stubborn eyes and the trembling fingertips formed a sharp contrast...

The selling point of Hong Kong films is actually very monotonous, and they just play on Hollywood's superhero "cool" strategy.

Chen Long is undoubtedly very experienced in this aspect.

In the high-speed car chase scene, the harsh sound of metal friction resounds throughout the theater, the sparks of bullets scraping against the car windows, and the actors' tense facial muscles, every frame brings out the violent aesthetics of Hong Kong-style police and gangster films to the extreme!
“This movie will do well at the box office.”

Chen Fei's softly spoken words made the eyes of the people sitting in the same row light up.

But at this time, Jing Tian's words made him frown again.

"The movie I starred in, 'Antique Bureau', will be finished soon. It feels very similar to this drama in style, so the finished film should be good too."

Chen Fei: "..."

He had never heard of this movie, and his memory was completely blank!
At the same time, the publicity and marketing team of Alibaba Pictures was frowning at the pre-sale data of "Summer of Future World".

After the premiere yesterday, as of today, the total pre-sale box office has only increased by 610 million, and the cumulative total is 2610.2 million.

This is not good news!
……

After a night, it was the 30th.

"Raging Fire" and "Summer of Glory" are both released in theaters.

The former had 35.6% of the first-day screenings, while the latter had 35.4%.

The two sides are almost identical.

Under the influence of these two films, the data of "1921" plummeted and it was immediately cleared out by theaters.

At the same time, just as major cinemas began to "receive customers", China Film's latest announcement was officially released:

"My Fathers and I" will be released on September 9, the Mid-Autumn Festival. The film continues the compilation film model of the "My Fathers and I" series and is co-directed and starred by Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Ziyi, Xu Zheng and Shen Teng.

The four stories start from four different eras: the Anti-Japanese War, the construction of New China, the reform and opening up, and the modern future. They use the family as the starting point to show the struggle and inheritance of the fathers. "

"The disaster blockbuster "Peak Explosion" will be released on October 10, the National Day. The film is directed by Li Jun and starred by Zhu Yilong, Huang Zhizhong, Chen Shu, Jiao Junyan and other powerful actors.

As a disaster action film, it focuses on the ordinary people who stand up in the face of disasters. The theme of "there are no heroes who fall from the sky, only ordinary people who stand up" expounds the great spirit and thought of unity and cooperation in disaster relief..."

As soon as the two notices were released, a large number of hot topics followed and netizens were discussing it heatedly!

It can be clearly seen that China Film has invested a lot of money in publicity and promotion.

The topic was extremely hot, even to the point of surpassing the status of a normal mainstream movie.

Anyone in the know understands what is going on.

If nothing unexpected happens, this should be Jiao Hongfen's final charge towards the goal of "staying in office."

But in Dong Ping's eyes, it was a strong signal!

"During this National Day, mainstream films will surely regain their glory and popularity!"

"My Fathers and Me", "The Explosion", "The Battle at Lake Changjin", so many main-theme movies are scheduled for the National Day holiday, the market will definitely be very hot!

"I propose that the film "Revolutionary" invested by our company be released during the National Day holiday. What do you think?"

Everyone in the conference room looked at each other and expressed no objection.

The boss has spoken, and is so excited, it is obvious that he has already made a decision.

In this case, objection is not a good move.

So, the next morning, Huanxi Media’s announcement was also issued.

"The historical blockbuster "Revolutionary", exclusively produced by Huanxi Media and co-created by director Guan Hu, will be released in domestic theaters on September 9, and will compete in the National Day holiday!"

The discussion online became even louder.

Four main theme movies collide with each other, is this going to lead to a big fight?

"A big brawl?" Inside the "Parasite" crew, Fade Chen curled his lips with disdain, "With just this, are you qualified to fight against "The Battle at Lake Changjin"?"

He simply closed the news interface. It was obvious that these people were just here to take advantage of the popularity. There was no need to pay any attention to them.

Then I opened the Maoyan app and saw that the first-day box office results of "The Angry Case" and "Summer" were already released.

The former is 8465 million and the latter is 5109 million.

There is a big gap in box office sales, and so is word of mouth.

Especially the latter, it's like feeding shit into the mouths of the audience who were excited to go to the cinema to watch the movie!

The film clearly laid out so much foreshadowing for the relationship between the male and female protagonists in the beginning, with confessions and official announcements, but in the end it was implicitly revealed that the male protagonist is actually a gay!

Just by reading the comments, Chen Fei could imagine the audience cursing in the cinema.

"It's ok that the male and female protagonists don't have a CP feeling, but the separation in the end was so hasty, it's amazing."

"What the hell is this mainstream media of Generation Z? What is the idea of ​​men liking men? Are you crazy?"

"Obviously, this is a movie made especially for the actors' fans, without considering the feelings of the casual audience at all."

"High school students can talk about love with the sophistication and scheming of adults. In contrast, the extramarital affair between two middle-aged people is as shy and lingering as that of junior high school students. Are youth films now so advanced?"

"I just want to know, who has youth like this? Give me back my money! Give me back my money!!!"

(End of this chapter)