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

Chapter 1374 What I want is a professional outfit!

"The 4th Dragon Soaring World International Film Festival officially concluded last night. Congratulations to 'Parasite' for winning the Golden Great Wall Award!"

"Han Jianu and Zhang Yi won the Golden Great Wall Best Director and Golden Great Wall Best Actor awards respectively..."

"The National Day Golden Week has come to a successful end. The box office of 'The Lone Ranger' has exceeded 15 billion yuan, and 'Mozart in Outer Space' has exceeded 100 million yuan."

"The film 'China's Ping Pong: The Last Stand,' produced by iQiyi, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group, and directed and starring Deng Chao, has officially wrapped up filming."

Bona Film Group issued a statement announcing the official launch of "Operation Jiaolong," which will create a new chapter in patriotic films!

...

In the blink of an eye, the seven-day National Day holiday has come to an end.

The results of the awards selection for this year's Dragon Age International Film Festival were already predicted, so there was no surprise at all.

Isn't it only natural that a work that won the Palme d'Or would win a major domestic award after returning home?
After all, good works should be seen everywhere, and both the audience and the industry have their own standards.

But when it comes to the upcoming Golden Rooster Awards, most people in the industry just give a cold laugh.

These awards have become increasingly incomprehensible over the years, deliberately going against the grain.

Instead of using high-quality works that have achieved both critical and commercial success, they insist on using them as stepping stones, forcibly elevating those terrible films with barely passing Douban scores and box office flops to the awards stage, all while calling it "art" and claiming it's noble.

People aren't stupid; anyone with eyes can see that behind this is nothing more than a power struggle between capital and personal relationships.

Over time, who would still care about the Golden Rooster Awards?
Audiences are too lazy to pay attention, and industry insiders are too lazy to take it seriously. After all, winning awards doesn't necessarily mean a good film, and not winning awards doesn't necessarily mean a bad one.

Its popularity is declining year by year, and its value is plummeting. If this continues, it will likely be completely abandoned by the market sooner or later.

Chen Fei was unaware of the others' mindsets.

Anyway, now whenever he sees the words "Golden Rooster," no matter how eye-catching the title is, he won't click on it and waste even half a second.

This award is getting more and more ridiculous, especially in recent years, when it has completely abandoned the concept of "fairness".

If we keep playing like this, we'll eventually destroy ourselves!

Furthermore, the box office performance during the National Day holiday was not unexpected.

While "The Lone Ranger" has some controversial aspects in terms of plot pacing and the design of some jokes, and is not perfect, its overall framework is solid.

Shen Teng's comedic performance remains strong, and the fresh attempt at science fiction elements has led to a steady rise in word-of-mouth and a surge in box office revenue. The film easily surpassed 15 billion yuan in just over a week after its release, and its momentum continues to be strong.

In contrast, "Mozart from Outer Space" became a complete "cannon fodder" during the National Day holiday.

The film generated a lot of buzz before its release thanks to its fantasy setting, but its ratings plummeted after its release, with viewers criticizing the childish plot, illogical storyline, and special effects that failed to live up to the hype.

By the latter half of the holiday, daily box office revenue had plummeted to just over 500 million yuan, not even a fraction of what "The Lone Ranger" earned.

Shanghai Film Group has completely abandoned its promotional efforts, cutting marketing expenses and even significantly reducing screenings by cinemas.

These two highly anticipated "sci-fi comedy showdown" ended abruptly without even a proper competition.

"Mozart from Outer Space" prematurely ended its run with a near-precipitous drop in box office revenue.

...

Feiyue Films.

Inside his office, Chen Fei frowned slightly, looking at the announcement of the "Jiaolong Action" project released by Bona Film Group, quite puzzled.

"A new chapter in patriotic films? What exactly is this?"

He, for one, was not optimistic.

These days, patriotic films have long lost their former glory, and audience enthusiasm is visibly cooling down.

Ultimately, the problem lies with the content.

Either it's a rigid pile of preaching, turning "positive energy" into "forced indoctrination," with characters as flat as a sheet of paper, good people being so great and righteous that they seem unreal, and villains being so evil that they make no sense;

Either it's just the same old formula with a different name, repeating the same old tricks over and over again, so you can guess the ending after watching the beginning, and there's absolutely nothing new about it.

It's important to understand that audiences go to the cinema to see a good story, not to listen to a forced, indoctrination-like ideological lecture.

After seeing it so many times, people naturally get tired of it.

For example, the films released during this year's National Day holiday, "Ordinary Heroes" and "Iron Will".

Before their release, these two films generated a lot of buzz with their "based on true events" and "paying tribute to heroes" gimmicks. On the day of their release, their screenings and box office were quite impressive, but they lost momentum after only a few days.

Now, daily box office revenue has plummeted to below ten million, and discussions on social media have dropped precipitously, with related topics disappearing altogether.

Audience enthusiasm for the film has clearly waned, and the film review section is filled with comments criticizing the "clichéd plot" and "deliberate emotional manipulation."

It is evident that the heyday of patriotic films is rapidly declining, and the high box office and attention of the past seem to have vanished like a bubble that can never be recaptured!

If this trend continues, it may truly be heading towards complete decline.

"Transformation is now imperative..."

Chen Fei murmured to himself, thinking of the film "The Long Journey Home" that Kang Honglei was currently directing.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be the last patriotic film released by Feiyue Films.

"Boom boom boom!"

There was a sudden knock on the office door. Chen Fei looked up and called out, "Come in."

The next second, the door was gently pushed open, and Liu Yifei, dressed in a black business suit, walked in.

The well-tailored skirt suit accentuated her figure perfectly, with the hem just reaching her knees, revealing a section of her fair and slender calves.

Her steps were light and slow in her stiletto heels, and the hem of her skirt swayed slightly as she walked, outlining the smooth and alluring curves of her waist and hips. She exuded both the competence of a working woman and an indescribable femininity. Every step seemed to touch the heart.

"Is something wrong?"

Chen Fei looked at her curiously, his gaze sweeping over her, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Liu Yifei held a project proposal in her hand, walked to the desk and handed it over: "Sign this project, 'The Room Next Door,' so I can go and collect the start-up funding."

Chen Fei took the project proposal, but instead of reading it, he slowly twirled the pen in his hand, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Sign it..."

He dragged out his words, deliberately placing the project proposal on the table, arms crossed, looking at her. "This project's start-up capital isn't a small amount. You think you can just sign it like that? No way, I have to review it carefully first." Liu Yifei knew he was up to something again, rolled her eyes with a charming expression, and said helplessly, "Oh, stop messing around, the team is waiting."

"Then let them wait a bit longer." Chen Fei suddenly stood up, pulled her into his arms, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on the top of her head, his voice carrying a teasing chuckle, "It's not impossible for me to sign, but don't you have to give me something in return?"

The couple were already quite used to this kind of role-playing game.

Liu Yifei glared at him reproachfully with her beautiful eyes and struggled symbolically for a moment.

But her strength was no match for Chen Fei's; it was like a kitten being tickled.

"Chairman Chen, please have some self-respect!"

Chen Fei chuckled, picked her up around the waist, and carried her to the inner lounge: "What self-respect? I don't understand. As long as you behave, I'll sign it for you."

Upon entering the lounge, Liu Yifei hurriedly tried to take off her clothes: "I just put these on, don't get them dirty..."

"Don't take it off." Chen Fei pressed her hand down, his eyes sweeping over her suit with burning intensity, his voice slightly hoarse, "I just love seeing you in business attire."

Liu Yifei sighed helplessly, glared at him with her beautiful eyes, and gestured towards the door: "Lock the door."

Chen Fei smiled and did as he was told, then closed the door to the lounge behind him.

When he turned around, Liu Yifei had already taken off the hair tie from her wrist and neatly tied her long hair into a low ponytail at the back of her head, revealing her slender and fair neck.

……

More than an hour later, the lounge gradually returned to calm.

Liu Yifei straightened her slightly disheveled skirt, looked at the torn stockings on the ground, and frowned helplessly.

This is already the seventh pair to be sacrificed this month!

That jerk, he always tears her stockings!
Meanwhile, on the project proposal on the table, Chen Fei's signature, written in a flamboyant style, stood out prominently.

"Here, it's signed."

Chen Fei pushed the project proposal in front of her, his eyes still holding a lingering smile.

Liu Yifei grabbed the project proposal and stuffed it into her bag. Before leaving, she turned back and glared at him, then scoffed, "I'll settle the score with you when we get back tonight!"

Before she finished speaking, she turned around and walked out in her high heels, her small, pert buttocks swaying gently with each step, carrying a hint of coquettishness.

Chen Fei leaned against the table, watching her figure disappear through the door, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Settling accounts? When has he ever been afraid of that?

Perfect timing, I'll take another good look at the "interest" behind this project proposal tonight.

……

Before we knew it, it was May 14th.

At 8 p.m. that evening, the 36-episode series "Tales of the Tang Dynasty" officially came to an end!
Media press releases were already prepared, and the moment the words "finale" appeared, reports from major official websites arrived as expected:

"Warmest congratulations! The 'Tales of the Tang Dynasty' has officially concluded, with 36 episodes garnering over 45 billion views and maintaining a solid 8.2 rating on Douban!"

"The 2022 Best Historical Drama of Both Critical Acclaim and Popularity Has Been Crowned: 'Tang Dynasty Ghost Stories' Remains at the Top!"

"As of now, the total number of views for the topic 'Tales of the Tang Dynasty' has exceeded 50 billion, and the number of bullet comments has surpassed 1.8 million, setting a new record for historical dramas on Youku..."

"Flying Leap Films! Only producing high-quality works! — The Record of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty"

With numerous reports from various media outlets, "The Record of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty" has once again become a hot topic of discussion.

This historical suspense drama, starring no top-tier celebrities, has demonstrated astonishing "dominance" since its premiere.

Many other dramas released at the same time were easily overshadowed by its popularity.

The youth sports drama "The Blazing Path", starring Jin Chen and Wang Anyu, once sparked discussion with its "older woman-younger man romance" theme, but its viewership has remained around 8 million, with a Douban rating of 6.5, and the gap with "Tang Dynasty Ghost Stories" has widened rapidly.

The period drama "Hutong," starring Zhao Lusi and Hou Minghao, was highly anticipated before its premiere due to its combination of "popular young actresses and nostalgic themes." However, its final viewership remained at 12 billion, with a Douban rating of 6.1, and its popularity was far less than that of "Tang Dynasty Ghost Stories."

According to industry data, during the broadcast of "Tales of the Tang Dynasty", the average daily active users on Youku increased by 23% year-on-year, with more than 60% of users being registered members for the show.

An industry data analyst published an article stating, "This drama completely shattered the 'popularity determines success or failure' rule. While many dramas airing at the same time rely on the lead actors' fans to drive viewership, this one attracted audiences of all ages through its crime plot and ensemble cast. This 'content dominance' makes it difficult for other dramas to compete..."

Some netizens even joked: "After the National Day holiday, the film and television industry split into two factions: one is discussing the box office of 'The Lone Ranger' and the other is chasing the cases of 'Tang Dynasty Ghost Stories,' which shows its 'dimensional reduction attack' on other dramas at the same time!"

With the final episode airing, the demand for a second season is growing ever stronger!
Under Jiang Xuerou's arrangement, Feiyue Film and Television immediately released the news: "The production team has begun preparing for the sequel, which will retain the original cast, with more complex cases and an expanded world view..."

In contrast, other dramas released at the same time were suppressed and could only watch helplessly as this "dark horse web drama" broke one viewership record after another.

At that moment, many TV drama production teams in the industry suddenly realized a truth:
When it comes to a truly good story, traffic is ultimately just icing on the cake!

The night passed, and it was the 15th.

The popularity of "Tang Dynasty Ghost Stories" remains strong, but other new dramas are following closely behind.

In particular, the numerous new dramas that have officially announced their release dates have attracted heated discussions and attention from many netizens and fans across the internet.

"The urban romance drama 'Thank You Doctor,' produced by Jaywalk Studio and starring Yang Mi and Bai Yu, will premiere on iQiyi on November 4th."

"The urban modern drama 'County Committee Compound,' produced by CCTV and Daylight Entertainment and starring Hu Ge, Wu Yue, Zhang Xincheng, and Huang Lei, is officially scheduled to premiere on December 7th on multiple platforms."

"The crime/criminal investigation drama 'Raging Waves,' produced by Feiyue Pictures, directed by Xu Jizhou, and starring Zhang Songwen, Zhou Yiwei, Li Yitong, Zhang Zhijian, Wu Gang, Ni Dahong, and Han Tongsheng, will premiere exclusively on Youku on January 14, 2023."

"..."

Popular film seasons such as the Lunar New Year holiday, New Year's Day, and Spring Festival are sometimes pursued not only by the film market but also by the television drama market.

Chen Fei has signed a lot of documents in the past few days, most of which are project proposals and development plans submitted by the TV drama department.

Under Jiang Xuerou's leadership, everything was in good order.

Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of Liu Yifei and Han Jianu, auditions for "The Room Next Door" officially began after funding was secured.

Since he had already decided to give them full control, Chen Fei naturally wouldn't ask too many questions and would let the two of them make the arrangements.

He's mainly keeping an eye on film projects.

For example, the post-production work for "Candle in the Tomb: The Return of the South China Sea," overseen by Ning Hao, was finally completed in late October...

(End of this chapter)