Full-time actor

Chapter 542 [107] The intense 05 Lunar New Year movie season!

"Boss Wang, Director Zhang, Boss Zhang, I'm sorry, I'm late because of something!"

When Chen Yu and Liu Yifei arrived, Wang Zhonglei, Feng Xiaogang and others had obviously already arrived; of course, in addition to them, there were also several leaders they met last time when discussing cooperation.

Zhang Heping, head of the Imperial Capital Cultural Bureau, and Zhang Qiang, president of Forbidden City Pictures.

Li Bingbing and Ge You were also there, otherwise Chen Yu would not have brought Liu Yifei here.

"It's okay, we just got here too!"

Zhang Heping smiled at Chen Yu, appearing very polite.

Chen Yu hurriedly greeted the two people, and Liu Yifei next to him also smiled slightly.

"Brother Yu and Yifei are a couple, we are so envious!"

Wang Zhonglei was joking, and everyone at the table started laughing.

Of course, this was a joke. Neither Chen Yu nor Liu Yifei took it seriously. Liu Yifei swung her pigtails behind her and sat next to Chen Yu like a well-behaved baby. Li Bingbing next to her was very envious.

In her opinion, the relationship between Chen Yu and Liu Yifei is like a fairy couple in the entertainment industry; regarding the official announcement that was widely circulated some time ago, deep down in her heart, she actually admires the two young juniors in front of her.

Chen Yu, in particular, made his announcement openly and took Liu Yifei to various occasions, including the grand opening in Venice.

In this increasingly complicated environment, there are obviously fewer and fewer couples in this circle who are truly in love.

She smiled at Liu Yifei, and Liu Yifei bowed her head and greeted her: "Sister Bingbing!"

"Teacher Ge!"

She stretched out her little hand again and waved slightly at Ge You, which was very cute.

Chen Yu ordered drinks for Liu Yifei and him, and said to the two leaders beside him: "Director Zhang and CEO Zhang, drinking coffee so late at night, can they sleep?"

"Haha, Brother Yu, you don't know. I originally planned to meet at a teahouse, but Director Zhang told me there's a new coffee shop downstairs, so we should go with the principle of proximity!"

"Mr. Zhang can't live without coffee now. He relies on coffee to survive when working overtime every day!"

"..."

Wang Zhonglei was absolutely speechless on the scene, and the atmosphere became lively with just a few words.

"By the way, Brother Yu, what do you think about the matter we had last time in Hong Kong?"

Even when it came to filming The Banquet with Media Asia, Chen Yu had not responded and had been procrastinating.

"I think I'll be free in the second half of next year!"

"Has Mr. Wang written the script?"

Chen Yu didn't lie to him. The schedule for the first half of next year was already full.

The filming of "Fast and Furious 3" was completed around the Chinese New Year; and then it was Jiang Wen's "The Sun", which would probably take at least a month even if it was shot faster.

In addition to the uncertain release date of "Bruce Lee", two new films are about to be launched.

"Mission Impossible 4" and "Better Days"!
If nothing unexpected happens, "Better Days" will definitely be released first, because Liu Yifei's schedule has to be taken into consideration; Li Yang is already preparing the script for "Blind Mountain", and he plans to give "Hidden in the Dust" a try in Berlin next year.

After Lu Xuechang finished filming "Mr. Tree", Chen Yu asked him to rest for a while, mainly because his health was not very good. In his previous life, it was because of the continuous filming that caused the recurrence of kidney disease, and he ended up being bedridden for many years.

"I've finished writing it. Do you want to take a look?"

"I'm still thinking of taking some time out this month, as the film is about to start shooting!"

Wang Zhonglei sighed.

In this case, Chen Yu might not have time to join the crew; after all, time waits for no one, and Huayi is at this critical juncture, he must hope to make a blockbuster to shut up everyone in the circle.

Although it is true that he makes money by filming for the audience, his main purpose is to shock his peers, especially Orange Sky Entertainment, which Wang Jinhua has just joined.

So this is the significance of this blockbuster.

Wang Zhonglei definitely hopes to get promoted as soon as possible.

"it is good!"

“But I may not be able to catch up with this movie!”

Chen Yu said with a look of regret, Wang Zhonglei smiled and said, "Forget it, there will be opportunities for cooperation next time, let's see the effect of this film first!"

"I wish you a big fire!"

Chen Yu said casually, and Wang Zhonglei quickly changed the subject: "Let's not talk about the new movie. Our primary issue now is the release date of A World Without Thieves!"

Today is different from the past!
Huayi has been hollowed out internally, and "A World Without Thieves" has become the lifeline for Huayi. Of course, the Wang brothers have to focus all their energy on this movie; the only thing they are thankful for now is their initial collaboration with Chen Yu.

Otherwise, Huayi’s situation would be even worse now.

"I got another confirmed news during the Lunar New Year holiday. Jet Li's final film, Huo Yuanjia, is also going to be released!"

"His last costume martial arts film?"

This has to do with the marketing of "Huo Yuanjia". Jet Li claimed that after filming "Huo Yuanjia", he would never shoot a costume martial arts film again; at first, he said that he would not shoot an action film, but later he probably felt that he was too confident and changed his words.

This has made many fans in China who like his Kung Fu look forward to it.

Just as Wang Zhonglei said, it is a masterpiece that will be the last of its kind!
It is said that Jet Li's understanding and secrets of martial arts are all in this personal biographical film "Huo Yuanjia"; after filming, he officially said goodbye to costume kung fu movies. In order to leave no regrets, who among the fans will not go to the cinema to buy tickets to support it? !
Not to mention Chen Yu in his previous life, I guess except for Jet Li himself and the publicity and production companies, everyone thinks this news is true.

Because it was such a big sensation, not only ordinary people but also many female audiences who don’t watch martial arts films knew about it.

But in the end everyone realized that this was bullshit.

The next year, Jet Li starred in "The Warlords", which was also known as the film with the highest investment in China; a year later, Hollywood not only filmed "The Mummy 3", but also "The Forbidden Kingdom"... With such repeated marketing, he ruined his popularity among the public.

Until the TV series "The Legend of the Gods", he was completely defeated and there was no chance of recovery at all.

"Has it been scheduled?"

Of course, Chen Yu was asking about "Huo Yuanjia".

"not yet!"

"But I guess it will be either December 12th or early January!"

Zhang Qiang, the CEO of Forbidden City Pictures, was speaking nearby. His company had distribution business, so of course he knew a lot about distribution.

"Apart from The Promise, are there any other blockbusters scheduled for the Lunar New Year holiday?"

"Have!"

Zhang Qiang took out his mobile phone and opened the calendar. Several people gathered there.

Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing obviously cannot take care of this matter. There are only four people: Wang Zhonglei, Zhang Qiang, Chen Yu and Zhang Heping.

"The Lunar New Year holiday season begins on December 12st, with four films scheduled for release. Three of them have small investments and can be ignored; we can't go head-to-head with Chen Kexin's If Love!"

The marketing of this movie is also very strong, which Chen Yu encountered in Venice.

Moreover, the starring cast includes Zhou Xun, Jin Chengwu and Jacky Cheung, plus Korean actress Ji Jin Hee, and the director is also not weak. It is impossible for "A World Without Thieves" to compete with him for the No. 1 schedule. No company would do that. With the current theater schedule, the Lunar New Year schedule can fully meet the demand for releasing a blockbuster movie a week.

So there is no need to crowd together, which will be very bad for the box office.

“Number 15 is The Promise!”

"Then on Christmas Eve the 24th, King Kong!"

"This is the movie that Universal Pictures is most optimistic about this year. The investment is as high as 2 million yuan. It is definitely not something that can be beaten!"

Chen Yu remembered that King Kong had a very high box office in its previous life and was very sensational. Compared with it, the screening schedule of A World Without Thieves was destined not to be too high; in China these days, Hollywood still dominates.

Even though Chen Yu has box office appeal, it does not mean that he has to squeeze into the same screening schedule as these blockbusters. This is unwise.

“So, there’s only one week left in December!”

"August 12th!"

Zhang Qiang looked at Chen Yu and Wang Zhonglei: "Brother Yu said before that it would be held a week after The Promise, but that's not realistic at all. If The Promise and King Kong join forces to strangle us, we will be in a passive position!"

"As far as I know, there will be several movies released in Hong Kong in January, and the Film Bureau has more than a dozen movies waiting to be released. Those that can't be released this year will definitely be full in the new year. Even if they can't compete with us, they will have to schedule some screenings, right?"

"If we calculate based on 3-4 films a week, at least 8% of the screenings will be occupied, which will encroach on 30%. The key is that the screenings of The Promise and King Kong will not be reduced much!"

"Once Hong Kong movies are released again... January will be even more difficult!" Zhang Qiang is a senior distributor. He analyzed the situation with Wang Zhonglei and Chen Yu, and in the end, after much deliberation, they came down to just one time point.

And at this point in time, we have to be quick, otherwise "Huo Yuanjia" might be released.

"So, we only have December 12th left to choose from?"

Wang Zhonglei asked.

Zhang Heping nodded and said, "Yes, it's set today. I have to go to the Film Bureau to help you lock in a date. Huo Yuanjia can't compete with us in one respect. It's a Hong Kong movie, so the Film Bureau will definitely give us priority!"

"I think this date is okay!"

Chen Yu looked at the time on his phone.

Although we can’t get the week after “The Promise”, getting it a week in advance is still within a reasonable range.

This will test Chen Yu's box office appeal.

If "King Kong" wasn't available, that would actually be the best time to release it.

Christmas + New Year's Day are all holidays; unfortunately, domestic films these days can't beat Hollywood blockbusters, and China Film Group is in a very difficult situation.

Wang Zhonglei, who was standing aside, looked at Chen Yu and said, “The main reason is that I didn’t expect King Kong to be placed after The Promise!”

"It's okay, it's actually not bad, this way we will have more than half a month of single-piece time!"

That is, one movie has exclusive screening time.

Because Chen Yu had seen the original film of "If Love" in Venice, which is a musical film, it has this inherent limitation; the box office would definitely start to decline after a week, and most of the people who went to see the movie were fans.

"If it's on the 24th, even if King Kong isn't there, it will still grab the screening slot in January!"

“Maybe even worse than No. 8!”

Chen Yu suddenly thought of this time point.

The 24th is only a few days away from January, a little over a week; there will definitely be blockbusters released before New Year's Day, there is no doubt about that.

"That's not right. How come the 8th is only more than half a month?"

"The Promise! Our screening schedule will be gone once The Promise is released. It will only last for a week at most!"

Wang Zhonglei was saying that since there would be more than half a month of free time, they didn't need to worry so much and were specifically discussing the release date.

"No, the high screening schedule for The Promise will only last for three days at most. Believe me, on the fourth day our attendance will definitely blow it away, and then the screening schedule will increase!"

"Is it really as bad as you say?"

Chen Yu had actually told Wang Zhonglei about this matter a long time ago.

"The Promise was screened at Cannes, and the reviews were average!"

This matter is not very clear in China, but you will find out if you ask around.

“Foreigners don’t know how to appreciate it?”

"No matter what, we'll just schedule it on the 8th. King Kong is coming on strong, so we need to be wary of it. However, the 8th and the 24th won't be a competition. The only threat to us is The Promise, which is coming a week later, but—"

Chen Yu smiled and said, "Let's bet on him failing!"

"Hahaha!"

Several people present laughed.

The previous version of "The Promise" really had no rivals when it was released, breaking the 8 million mark in 5000 days and million in three days!
It wasn't until the release of "King Kong" that its box office growth was curbed.

But "King Kong" was 9 days behind it.

While there is "A World Without Thieves" in this world, "The Promise" is not so lucky; to be honest, the high box office of "The Promise" is also related to the overwhelming publicity every day. After its release, it broke seven box office records of Chinese films in succession.

Preview, pre-sale, midnight show, first day, single day, first weekend and fastest record to break 100 million.

Newspapers and media hype this up every day, so of course interested audiences will go to the cinema and buy tickets.

But because of this, the backlash is extremely fast.

Chen Yu has a lot of things going on in this life to prepare for the release of "The Promise".

"Anyway, I trust Brother Yu for once!"

"If it really fails, Huayi will cover the marketing expenses!"

As Wang Zhonglei was talking, Chen Yu smiled and said, "If you lose, it's mine, and if you win, it's Huayi's. How about that?"

"It's a bet!"

Wang Zhonglei laughed and thought, no matter how you calculate it, it’s not a loss!
If they lose, Chen Yu will pay for the marketing expenses; if they win, at most they will lose some marketing expenses. Wang Zhonglei will be even happier if "The Promise" flopped.

Chen Yu quickly added: "However, when Mr. Wang is marketing, you have to listen to me!"

"No problem, I'll cooperate with Brother Yu in everything!"

"You are the one who is responsible for the box office, who else should I listen to if not you?"

Now that the movie hasn't been released yet, of course Wang Zhonglei has to curry favor with Chen Yu; if it flopped, there would be too many people in this circle who would turn their backs on him.

"Then let's decide this first!"

"August 12th!"

After several people confirmed the release date of "A World Without Thieves", they all felt a lot more relaxed.

After chatting for a while, it was obvious that Zhang Heping had to go back. Chen Yu and Wang Zhonglei saw him out the door, and Zhang Qiang was also ready to leave.

"That's what I mean!"

"Brother Yu, let's find time to get together again next time!"

Wang Zhonglei hugged Chen Yu, and then talked to Ge You and others about the release date, as well as some roadshows, previews, etc. before the release. He asked them to come to discuss some of the work before the release, so they had to reserve a good schedule.

Of course there is no big problem with Liu Yifei and Chen Yu.

"This is the first time I've seen Mr. Wang so active!"

On the way back, Liu Yifei said to Chen Yu.

Chen Yu smiled and said, "Of course. Huayi is in a hurry now, so he has to have a good relationship with me. The release of A World Without Thieves is very important this time!"

"Although it seems like I made a bet with him, I lost, so I guess he won't take the money from me!"

"Hua Yi has a very bad reputation in the underworld, but that doesn't mean the Wang brothers don't know how to behave. Anyone who can make it big is a shrewd person..."

Chen Yu said calmly, and Liu Yifei nodded thoughtfully: "Mr. Wang seems to be very kind to others, but I think he treats you very well!"

"Nonsense, he's gay!"

Liu Yifei: "..."

"If I were one of his artists, your husband would be in his bed right now!"

Couldn't Chen Yu feel the enthusiasm of this old man?

"Haha, it's hard for you, husband..."

"But I feel that he should be bisexual. This is my intuition as a woman!"

Although Wang Zhonglei didn't say anything to Liu Yifei, probably because of Chen Yu's girlfriend, Liu Yifei could feel it from the look he gave Li Bingbing, a female artist from his company.

Extremely aggressive.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. I'll be leaving tomorrow. In a while... you know what I mean?"

Chen Yu gave her an ambiguous look, and Liu Yifei covered her mouth and laughed: "Give me some time, my mind is full of the way Mr. Wang looks at you!"

"Haha, my mind is now filled with the way Brother Zeng looks at you!"

Chen Yu complained in his heart and reached out to hug her in his arms.

(End of this chapter)