China Entertainment: I have been a director since 05

Guan Ling instructed Mimi to pay attention to key points and study hard. She also told Mimi at night that she should exercise every morning, and must do some yoga or similar movements to improve her body coordination.

“I remember, you keep saying it every day, every day. Can you please shut up?”

Mimi is annoyed.

These words sounded rather boring to her.

She hopes that Director Guan will give her a real, substantial role.

She heard about the shares from Liu Yifei.

But I don't know if it's true or not.

But she definitely knew about the child.

She also wants to have a child, but she's still a little hesitant.

Because she felt she needed to go further and completely solidify her position before considering anything else.

The night was deep.

Yang Mi took the good stuff, went through all the steps, and then pondered the feasibility deeply.

Deep penetration is feasible.

Director Guan is certainly a viable option.

The room fell silent.
Actually, she took leave from the filming of "Bad Genius" to come here, so she was still in a hurry.

She knew very well that she would be flying away the next morning.

Guan Ling was very dissatisfied with Mimi's attitude. "You even told me to shut up? How dare you!" She decided to help Mimi shut up.

Guan Ling has something to say about how to improve one's status. She even wrote down key points for Yang Mi to study carefully and improve her acting skills!
"See? Only by studying hard can you reap the rewards. I don't need to say much about this, because you understood this better than anyone else when you were filming 'Flying Colors,' didn't you?"

Only in this way can you improve your acting skills.

Only in this way can you establish your position.

"I see."

Yang Mi was so focused on spending time with Director Guan that she didn't even remember what he said.

But when I woke up in the morning, I found that Guan Ling had already left.

"Sigh, my husband is so tired, he's gone again."

She was a little sad; she was also going to Hong Kong.

Suddenly, she remembered the key points she had been told yesterday.

Yang Mi memorized her lines well, and her memory was also quite good. She managed to remember what Director Guan said yesterday and then reproduced it.

Yang Mi looked at it carefully, typed it into WeChat, sent it to Director Guan, and then pinned Director Guan to the top of her chat list.

You can't tell when you're typing.
After the WeChat message was sent, Yang Mi was completely stunned!

"I go!"

She let out a soft cry, her face instantly turning as red as a monkey's bottom!
"Director Guan, you're shameless!"

Yang Mi was speechless!

Am I fat? Am I really fat?

If Guan Ling were here, Yang Mi would definitely bite him a few times to vent her anger!
But thinking about it, if Director Guan continues to treat me like this, it would be quite interesting!

……

Time flies, and several days pass.

Alxa League, Inner Mongolia.

The boundless Gobi Desert was scorched yellow by the early autumn sun, and the distant horizon twisted and swayed in the heat.

Beside the massive crater simulation base stood several futuristic silver inflatable pods.
This isn't NASA, but rather the main filming location for Guan Ling's "The Martian".

"Old Huang, make your expression even more desperate! Not the despair of someone who's been starving for three days, but the despair of someone who knows they're the only living thing on the entire planet, and there's no one to turn to for help!"

Guan Ling's voice came through the dust-filled microphone inside the helmet, sounding somewhat distorted, but its undeniable penetrating power remained undiminished.

On the monitor, Huang Bo, wearing a bulky spacesuit, was futilely digging at the "Martian sand" beneath his feet, which was much finer and more bizarre than Earth's red soil.

Sweat streamed down his temples, which were coated with simulated sparks, leaving dark craters in the sand.

"Director Guan, isn't this despair of rolling in the sand realistic enough?"

Huang Bo, panting heavily, struggled to sit up halfway, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace at the camera.

"How about adding a bit of regret, like 'I wish I hadn't taken this role'?"

The tense atmosphere was broken by this joke, and a suppressed burst of laughter erupted.

Guan Ling grinned, but her eyes remained sharp:
"Cut! That's the right emotion, let's keep it! Props, check the oxygen gauge on his spacesuit, get a close-up!"

Zhang Junning jogged over and handed over a thermos filled with piping hot, strong tea.

"Director Guan, take a break? I just got news over the phone that the post-production of 'Her' is all done and the final cut is out."

Guan Ling nodded, took a sip of hot tea, and the scalding liquid dispelled a trace of the chill of the Gobi Desert morning.

Before he could ask for details about "Her," Guo Fan, the assistant director who had been scrolling through news on his tablet, suddenly gasped, his voice trembling:

"Oh my god! Director Guan! It's a box office hit! It's a box office hit! 'Your Name'...it's reached 10 billion! And it's only been in theaters for less than two weeks!"

He excitedly shoved the tablet in front of Guan Ling's eyes; the screen displayed a real-time updated box office statistics page.
The figure representing the box office revenue of "Your Name" has already surpassed an astonishing 10 billion RMB, and the growth momentum shows no signs of slowing down.

Huang Bo, who had been stretching his limbs in place, immediately came over, forgetting to take off his helmet, which was covered in red sand:
"How much? 10 billion?! Lao Guo, you didn't miss a zero, did you?"

He snatched the tablet and poked the screen hard with his finger, as if to confirm that the numbers were not an illusion.

"An animated film! Director Guan, you...you've made an animated film that's more impressive than all of us struggling to make a live-action film?"

His tone was filled with disbelief and shock, and he looked at Guan Ling as if she were an alien monster.

The surrounding lights, cameras, stagehands, and all the staff who heard the news stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on Guan Ling.

The air seemed to freeze, with only the howling wind of the Gobi Desert sweeping by, stirring up fine dust.

Shock, absolute shock, even a touch of numbness.

They all knew that Guan Ling's "Your Name" would be a hit, after all, it had received rave reviews before its release and its box office performance in the first week was unstoppable, but no one expected it to be this successful!

This is not just breaking records, it's redefining the ceiling for domestic animated films!

Considering that Guan Ling's previous films were all successful, and with "Her," which has just finished filming and is destined for international audiences,
And then there's the hard science fiction film "The Martian," which is currently being filmed with a huge investment and is being made with incredible dedication...

A strong, almost dizzying sense of awe permeated the scene.

"To be honest, there's nothing shocking about it." Huang Bo suddenly realized something and coughed twice.

Actually, they already knew.

This young boss and director's energy and vision have long exceeded their usual understanding of what constitutes a "successful director."

Guan Ling didn't show any ecstatic joy on her face; she merely raised an eyebrow, seemingly having anticipated this number.

"Who said I'm stronger than you guys?"

However, his next sentence made Huang Bo completely stunned.

But when everyone pricked up their ears to listen, Guan Ling stopped talking.

"Alright, that's enough knowing the result. Get to work! There are no box office charts on Mars for you to see, Huang Bo, go find your sense of despair! All departments, get ready, one more take!"

His calm voice instantly pulled everyone back from the shock, and the tense commands and the sounds of machinery resounded once again.

Others might think Guan Ling is too composed, remaining unfazed even if Mount Tai collapses before her.

But only he himself knew that his heart was not truly unmoved.

A billion yuan means that Lingyun Media's stock price will take another rocket-like flight, and it also means that he has more leverage to secure even bigger projects.

But most importantly, this animated film set a record in 2013, during a non-peak season, which is absolutely amazing!

Guan Ling herself didn't expect it to happen so quickly!

In its previous life, this film only grossed a little over 600 million in 2016.

Now, Guan Ling has already elevated this film to a level that is beyond his own reach.

It goes without saying how many people came because of Guan Ling's reputation.

And this ability to attract customers, especially as created in animated films, is what's truly delightful.

"If Director Guan had taken this film to the Venice Film Festival this year, things wouldn't have turned out so badly," Guo Fan said.

Everyone shared the same opinion.
To be honest, this year's Venice International Film Festival is completely different from last year's.

Guan Ling had seen several push notifications about the Venice Film Festival on her phone before.

The 70th Venice Film Festival concluded in early September.

This year, the city of Water, under the administration of Alberto Barbara, has only one Chinese-language film—Tsai Ming-liang's "Stray Dogs"—selected for the main competition.

Although "Stray Dogs" received good reviews and its lead actress, Yang Kuei-mei, was highly regarded, it ultimately failed to win the Golden Lion as some media predicted, only receiving a symbolic "Special Jury Prize."

Compared to Guan Ling's phenomenal performance at the Venice Film Festival last year, where she completely overwhelmed directors worldwide, this is a far cry from her legendary status.

This year, Guan Ling's reputation has naturally been brought up again.

The most frequently mentioned comments were "the decline of Chinese-language films", "the end of the era of old friend Marco Müller", and "the end of the honeymoon period between Venice and Chinese-language films".

"Guan Ling carried Chinese-language films in 2012."
"Without Mark and Guan, Chinese-language films have no future."

Topics like these have already been hotly debated online.

Zhang Junning echoed their words, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.

Without Director Guan's name and the appearance of any works from his Lingyun Media, the Chinese-language topics at Venice indeed seemed so bland and lacking in impact.

Discussion level?
Limited to a small circle of film critics and a few professional media outlets, it didn't even manage to make it to the top of the domestic entertainment section for long.

Think back to this time last year, when Director Guan swept through Water City with "The Hunt," winning the Golden Lion and sparking nationwide discussion and an industry upheaval. This contrasts sharply with the quiet year.

Barbara hopes to hear more "voices from China"?
Zhang Junning chuckled inwardly. The strongest voice of China was currently shouting "One more take!" to Huang Bo on the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia.

"Hehe, this is really interesting." After taking pictures all afternoon, in the evening...
Guan Ling put away her phone and was about to return to the film set when a special video call request popped up—it was from Liu Yifei.

The background is the familiar nursery at home. She has a beautiful face with her hair loosely tied up, wearing comfortable home clothes, and holding a delicate little bundle in her arms, which is their newborn son.

"Director Guan! I heard that filming for 'Her' has wrapped up?"

Liu Yifei's voice, tinged with laughter, came through the screen, instantly soothing the harshness of the Gobi Desert.

"Look, look at our son! Come here, baby, call me Daddy..."

What will he call me?

Guan Ling was speechless; the child was still so young.

She brought her phone camera closer to her son.

The little guy stared curiously at Guan Ling on the screen with his big, dark, grape-like eyes, babbling away for a long time.

A warm current instantly struck Guan Ling's heart, and the fatigue of the past few days seemed to vanish.

"Oh! Your son is so handsome, just like you."

Guan Ling's voice unconsciously softened, and the smile on her face was more radiant than ever before on set.
"Look at me, am I good-looking?" He made a face at the camera, smearing the yellow sand on his face to make it look like a cat's face, which made the little guy's eyes light up.

Liu Yifei smiled gently, but there was a hint of heartache in her eyes, "The sandstorm is so strong where you are, and you've lost weight again. Don't push yourself too hard while filming."

"Don't worry, progress is going smoothly. Huang Bo is a great guy."

Guan Ling looked at the mother and son on the screen, her eyes softening completely.
"You've had a tough time in Hollywood. After I finish filming these few long night scenes here, I'll spend some quality time with you all when you return to China."

"Okay, the baby and I will wait for you."

Liu Yifei nodded, then, remembering something, added, "Oh right, Mom also said today that the promotional campaigns for those films released during the National Day holiday are overwhelming, but it feels..."

She paused, seemingly considering her words.

"They all seem quite anxious. Compared to your 'Your Name,' they seem to have lost momentum before they even started."

Guan Ling smiled but didn't respond to that question.
She played with her son for a while longer before reluctantly hanging up the phone under Zhang Junning's urging gaze.

"Jun Ning, this is not right!"

Guan Ling looked at Zhang Junning's ponytail and said, "The way you are makes me seem special and I'm letting my son down."

Zhang Junning ignored the questions and stammered, "..."
"If you feel bad, you can have another child for him, like a younger brother or sister, so you can play with him anytime. I can do that for you."

Guan Ling: "What a tragedy!"

……

Our gaze returns to the bustling city.

Soon, the National Day film season of 2013 arrived, filled with the smoke of battle, yet also imbued with a "tragic" atmosphere.

This period saw an unprecedented 15 new Chinese and foreign films crammed into the National Day holiday, leading the media to jokingly call it the "most brutal" National Day holiday ever.

Meanwhile, their propaganda campaign had already reached a fever pitch.

Bona Film Group's "Out of Inferno" focuses on "inferno" and emphasizes 3D visual effects. Its promotional points are concentrated on the "life-or-death rescue" and "shocking conspiracy" of Hong Kong stars such as Koo Tin-lok and Lau Ching-wan in the towering flames.

"King Kong" shouted the loudest yet most hollow slogan:
Headlines such as "Fourth Generation Kung Fu Films," "A Cultural Nuclear Bomb," and "A Symbolic Resurgence of Chinese Kung Fu on the World Stage" bombarded the media in succession.
The film attempts to replicate the success of the team behind "Painted Skin 2".

Claiming to be centered on "super action spectacle under real kung fu conditions," it aims to create "China's superheroes" and prominently proclaims "patriotism as its value orientation."

They're trying to replicate the low-ethnicity trend that Guan Ling previously created to boost box office revenue!
"The White Fox" even touted itself as the "world's first custom-made 4D film," attempting to find a new path in sensory stimulation. "The Lone Ranger": Johnny Depp reimagines a classic.

"The Lone Ranger" is Disney's big-budget action-adventure blockbuster of the year.

The film stars Johnny Depp, who rose to fame for playing Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean," and Armie Hammer, a rising star known for his roles in "Social Networking" and "Mirror Mirror."

Speaking of which, Guan Ling also saved Depp's life.

His past life's trials, Amber Heard, had long since made him a subservient subject to Director Kwan.

In this lifetime, this guy shouldn't have any major problems.

However, recently, Amber Heard has been frequently messaging Director Kwan, saying that Depp is very interested in her. When he heard that she was Director Kwan's person, he seemed even more excited.

Guan Ling also asked Amber to pass on a message to him.

It completely broke Depp's mentality.

Depp's film tells the legendary story of how the Native American warrior Tanto helps small-town lawyer John Reed transform into a champion of justice.

Johnny Depp still has some appeal in the country.

However, this film had already flopped once in Hollywood before, with a budget of $300 million but only a return of more than $70 million overseas.

It's fair to say that Disney lost a fortune.

Therefore, most people are not very worried about this movie.

The most discussed movie is "Steve Jobs," although some reviews say that there isn't even a trace of an iPhone in it.
Therefore, it may disappoint viewers who were hoping to see the behind-the-scenes story of the iPhone's creation in the movie.

In fact, Guan Ling had seen this movie in her previous life. The creators of "Steve Jobs" clearly did not learn a single bit of genius from the subject of the biography, resulting in many dull moments in the film.

Moreover, the film's plot abruptly ends when Jobs invents the iPod, glossing over the remarkable story of Apple's success over the past decade in the 21st century.

The film tells the story of Steve Jobs in his youth, starting with his dropping out of college, his co-founding of Apple with its founding members, his later betrayals, equity disputes, and return to his family—it's essentially a "American Dreams in China" story.

However, the film has a narrow perspective and does not bring out the grand historical context of the time like Forrest Gump did.

It just so happens that I can catch a showing of "American Dreams in China" which will be released on October 10th.

Other films such as "The Hunter," "Mental War," "72 Hours of Sword Thieves," and "Now You See Me" have also begun a concentrated publicity campaign, with most of the promotional points focusing on crime, action, and suspense elements.

However, no matter how dazzling the promotional materials are or how loud the slogans are, they cannot conceal a suffocating fact:

The entire period's buzz and audience anticipation were overshadowed by an animated film of a completely different genre that had already been released for over half a month—"Your Name."
It was firmly suppressed.

Theater managers looked at the film schedule with mixed feelings.

More than two weeks after its release, "Your Name" has secured the highest screening rate thanks to the powerful distribution of Lingyun Media and the brand name of Guan Ling, with screenings still fully booked.

But privately, several familiar managers couldn't help but complain on the phone:
"Sigh, if it weren't for 'Your Name' occupying the best theaters and prime-time screenings for so long, saving us from disaster, judging from the pre-sales, this National Day holiday would have been another miserable one. Even now, the most frequent question from our audience is still, 'Are there any good seats left for that animated film?'"

"King Kong? The slogans were loud, but the screenings were lukewarm. The special effects were criticized, and the discussion about the eight-year time-travel scene in 'Your Name' was not as strong... Screenings? It's good that it can still be shown now."

"It feels like everyone's trying really hard to promote it, but there's always a bit... a lack of confidence? Guan Ling's animated film has spoiled the audience's tastes and wallets, grossing over 11 billion yuan! Now these films are lucky if they can even break 10 million yuan on their opening day!"

"It's the same old story. Director Guan is like our father!"

"It's your father!"

"Not your father?"

"I only have one father. If Director Guan wants to be the director, he'll have to pay more. Don't even think about it unless you have at least 3 billion!"

"You're so smart! I'd only ask for forty billion."

"I have five billion."

Are you holding an auction here?

"No way, you can change your own father?" Some of the older people in the group couldn't stand it anymore.

You think you can just replace it like that? Mine's already buried. Replace your mother's ass.

……

Meanwhile, the glamorous CEO Wang, Bona's CEO Yu, Hong Kong's CEO Yang, and a whole bunch of bigwigs who invested money...
Looking at the National Day films that his company had heavily invested in, and comparing them with the disheartening box office curve and the continuously growing negative reviews of "Your Name," a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.

They had all participated in Guan Ling's miracle projects to varying degrees before, but now they had to endure the "tragic" reality of being crushed by his previous miracle.

They can't get involved in animated films.

Because they were of no use to Guan Ling.

In contrast, Hunan Province has Hongmeng Animation.

Since they were involved in the entire production of "Your Name," everyone involved is overjoyed with the current box office results.

Although many of them were earning a fixed salary, they made a name for themselves.

Moreover, they had also heard rumors that the company had been acquired by Lingyun Group and was just waiting for the official announcement.

By then, they will all be employees of major companies.

With a script and talent like Guan's, what else could they possibly worry about?
Regarding box office performance, a consensus has become the most genuine reflection of everyone's feelings during the National Day holiday.
It's not that the market lacks money; it's that all the money has flowed to that young man who's photographing Mars in the Gobi Desert.

The clamor surrounding the National Day film season cannot mask a collective anxiety:
Under the lingering impact of Guan Ling's "animation nuclear bomb," will their meticulously prepared action feast and visual extravaganza still be able to attract audiences to buy tickets?
The so-called "most disastrous National Day film season" has finally made everyone realize just how disastrous it was.

This highly anticipated box office extravaganza, before it even began, seemed to be shrouded in a dim glow under the shadow of Guan Ling.

That's pretty tragic.

The final result confirmed this anxiety—during the seven-day National Day holiday, the national box office raked in 7 million yuan, with "Your Name" taking half of the market with over 4 million yuan. While it seemed to dominate, it was actually a massive bombardment of box office revenue.

But everyone knows that if "Your Name" had been released during the National Day holiday, its performance would have been even more dazzling. It might have easily grossed another 600-700 million yuan.

The vast majority of other films, however, were silently relegated to the background and cannon fodder under the fierce competition and the long-term pressure from "Your Name".

Guan Ling didn't care much about these things; the sandstorms in Inner Mongolia continued to howl.

Guan Ling watched Huang Bo's lonely silhouette against the simulated Martian sunset on the monitor; the scene was both magnificent and desolate.

He pressed the intercom button, his voice calm and even.

"Okay, that's a good take. Get ready for the next scene—'planting potatoes'!"

Compared to those movies, the most important thing for Guan Ling is always the next few projects.

In the Dark
Covering the Sky
The Martian
And these films are only just beginning.
All the noise and praise are just fleeting clouds.

There's always a ceiling to be reached in the domestic market; someone has to break through it.

So far, Guan Ling can clearly perceive it.

"Your Name" only grossed a maximum of two billion yuan, which is far from enough to break out of its niche.

Is this an inevitable trend of our times?

Guan Ling didn't know, but he did know that compared to "Your Name," the remaining films were the real killers.

Just do it! (End of Chapter)