During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 780 Premiere Sequel: The Battle Between the Monkey King and the Poisonous Dragon
After a night of passion, Wei Jin arrived at the company feeling refreshed.

After parking his car on the second basement level, Lao Zhu headed straight to the floor where Shanhe Shuimo was located to continue the post-production work on "Bouquet".

Unexpectedly, as soon as the elevator arrived at this floor, and after taking only two steps, I saw several technical staff members chatting and gossiping.

"Really? A host from CCTV? How could that be?"

"Really, why would I lie to you? The secretly filmed video from the dinner table is right here. They're probably doomed now. Leading the fabrication, tsk tsk tsk."

"Really? But at such close range, it should be easy to pinpoint the person taking the photos, right? Aren't you afraid of retaliation? And who will trust him after this? Everyone will have to be on guard."

"Hmph, you're too naive. You don't understand the dark side of the workplace at all. Everyone has their own place. If this person doesn't step down, how can someone else take their place?"

Wei Jin was puzzled. He went up and took a look. Good heavens, so it was this guy. He deserved it.

With the drama "Not Short of Money" and the show "Avenue of Stars", he became incredibly popular.

Unfortunately, once someone becomes famous, they get arrogant and start cursing others after they've had their fill. Isn't that just courting death?
"Alright, stay away from this gossip. Delete the videos too. Don't create trouble for yourself."

After giving his instructions, Wei Jin ignored the startled reactions of the engineering students and went straight to his editing room to begin working.

The film "Bouquet" doesn't have many special effects, and the editing is relatively easy. The main challenge is the color rendering, which requires a little more effort.

However, Wei Jin estimated that it would take at most half a month to complete the task.

Time flies when you're engrossed in editing; half the day passed in the blink of an eye. In the afternoon, Wei Jin received a call from Wu Jing, reminding him to attend the premiere.

"You little brat, I've invested seventy million, how could I not come?"

"Hehe, I was just afraid you'd forget because you were busy with post-production. Well then, it's settled, Old Wu will be waiting for President Wei!"

"Get lost!"

The following day, the premiere of "Wolf Warrior" took place as scheduled.

Previously, at the opening ceremony, Wei Jin had promised Wu Jing that the premiere would be a grand affair, so the invitations had already been widely distributed in the industry in the name of the company.

As expected, even though the production industry was not optimistic about the film, countless industry professionals and celebrities still came to support it.

Besides the top production companies, directors, and producers in the industry, almost all the first- and second-tier celebrities who received invitations also attended.

However, to Wei Jin's surprise, despite Wu Jing's previous strained relationship with the Hong Kong entertainment circle, quite a few Hong Kong artists came to support him this time.

Hung Chun-po, Lau Chun-wai, Yip Wai-sin, Simon Yam, Chow Siu-lung, Tse Fung, Gillian Chung.
Even Andy Lau, who was filming "The Great Wall" at the time, appeared here.

Just before the premiere began, Wei Jin chatted with Andy Lau for a few minutes.

Judging from what he said, the filming of "The Great Wall" is going smoothly, and it is estimated that the crew will move to the Oriental Movie Metropolis film and television base in Wanda in June.

This 5,000-acre film and television base, built by Wanda, is similar in function to China Film Group's digital base, mainly consisting of sound stages, suitable for shooting special effects scenes.

Wei Jin pondered that he could take some time to go and take a look, and if it was suitable, "The Wandering Earth" could be filmed there, with sets built from scratch.

During the conversation, filmmakers and artists from the Hong Kong film industry kept coming over to greet Wei Jin, their respectful attitude making him feel somewhat overwhelmed.

It's no wonder, though, as Hong Kong's film industry is declining. Anyone with a passion for the film industry should understand that the market is in mainland China.

If you want to make a living in mainland China, Wei Jin and Shanhe Media are definitely the biggest hurdles you can't avoid!
Moreover, Wei Jin also holds the title of Asia's richest man, which puts Li Bancheng in the shadows. The latter has dominated Hong Kong for decades and is already a legendary figure.

In the eyes of Hong Kong artists today, isn't the Wei and Jin dynasties even more legendary? No matter how humble they may seem, it's not an exaggeration!

Because Wei Jin arrived relatively late, after some socializing, a staff member came to remind him that the premiere was about to begin.

Wei Jin arrived at his seat in the first row and had just sat down when Old Wang, the fiber optic engineer next to him, came up to him.

"Brother, in your opinion, how high will 'Wolf Warrior' go at the box office during this release period?"

Old Wang's tone was somewhat sarcastic. He had refused Wu Jing's offer of investment back then, which now seemed very wise.

Without mentioning the subject matter, given this release window, "Wolf Warrior" is unlikely to break even, sandwiched between two Hollywood blockbusters and competing with numerous domestic films.

Although he was a staunch ally of Wei and Jin, it was no fun watching him show off all the time; it was more interesting to see him suffer setbacks.

"Dude, how many times have I told you? Sometimes, you have to let things play out for a while. It's only going to be released in two days, so you can watch it at your leisure, haha."

Wei Jin glanced at Lao Wang, too embarrassed to criticize him directly, but he figured Lao Wang would regret it and slap his thigh when the box office results came out.

At this point, the ceremony on stage had already begun. Xie Nan, as the newlywed wife, was personally hosting her husband's movie premiere, which was quite a spectacle.

The last time I saw a husband-and-wife team like this was Zhang Ziyi and Xiao Sa, I think?

However, the two didn't engage in any public displays of affection, and their conversations were all quite conventional.

Wu Jing expressed his deepest gratitude to Wei Jin for his trust, support, and mentorship; he also recounted the ups and downs he had faced in his transition to directing over the years; and thanked the cast and crew for their support of the production.

He revealed a little tidbit here: "Perhaps many people know that I injured my eye during filming due to a mistake in an explosion scene."

What many people don't know is that actor Ni Dahong was also injured, and he insisted on waiting until the filming ended before telling us that his thigh was covered in blood.

Ni Dahong waved his hand, saying that the scene wasn't over until the director yelled "cut," and he had to stay in character.

These remarks earned him a thumbs-up from many people present, including Wei Jin.

He truly deserves to be called a veteran actor, a paragon of virtue and talent! Unlike the young idols of today, who need to be carried to the hospital on a stretcher for even the slightest scrape, tsk tsk tsk.
On the big screen, the main feature of "Wolf Warrior" began to play.

Although he had already read it once, Wei Jin still patiently read it again.

Because these kinds of action-packed movies, even though they don't have much substance, are actually quite watchable.

"Wu Jing seems to be quite busy?"

Hearing Old Wang's teasing, Wei Jin glanced in Wu Jing's direction and saw him whispering with Liu Zhenwei from Hong Kong, seemingly discussing something. Not having time to pry into other people's affairs, Wei Jin casually scanned the area behind him, noticing that most people were watching quite intently.

The 90-minute film came to a close, and amidst applause, Wu Jing and the creative team returned to the stage.

This time, however, he was facing a media interview.

As expected, box office revenue is always an unavoidable topic, and the media's questions were almost identical to those asked by Lao Wang before.

Wu Jing gathered his thoughts and raised the microphone. "Military-themed movies have never been big hits before, but haven't patriotic films never been big hits either?"
However, within just a few months, "Operation Mekong" and "The Taking of Tiger Mountain" achieved box office results of 25 billion and 15 billion respectively, which shows that the subject matter is not the decisive factor in box office success.

Although I am still far behind Director Wei and Director Xu, I believe that "Wolf Warrior" will definitely be a great success, and I am very confident that it will at least break even.

As for the pressure of Hollywood blockbusters, to borrow the words of our "Running Man" captain, Brother Chao, "As long as they don't knock me down and I can still squat, I won't admit defeat!"

After finishing his impassioned speech, Wu Jing smiled at Wei Jin and asked, "Mr. Wei, what do you think?"

Wei Jin, who was suddenly brought up, shook his head helplessly and stood up amidst the commotion. Immediately, a microphone was handed to him by the media.

"Director Wu is absolutely right. I'm also very confident in 'Wolf Warrior,' it's definitely going to be a winner! As for how much it will make, I really can't say. I'll have to rely on all of you media friends to help promote it, hahaha."

The dinner was also a time for networking within the industry, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

As the main character today, Wu Jing was destined to be busy, taking Xie Nan for walks around from time to time to greet the guests.

On the contrary, the producers of the Wei and Jin dynasties seemed quite relaxed, with no intention of engaging in any social interactions—because it was unnecessary and too troublesome.

However, Wei Jin was unwilling to socialize, but people would always come to him, such as Huo Wenxi, who came to support him on behalf of Yinghuang.

"Mr. Wei, the movie is very good. I wish it great box office success."

Perhaps because the weather is getting warmer, the beautiful mature woman Huo Wenxi was only wearing a short-sleeved fitted shirt today.

Paired with a black bodycon skirt, red-soled black high heels, sparkling diamond earrings, and fiery red lips, she not only showed off her graceful figure but also exuded the charm of a mature woman.

"Mani, thank you for your support, and I appreciate your kind words."

Wei Jin smiled and responded, then looked at the few followers behind Huo Wenxi—Xie Feng, Ajiao, and Wen Yongshan.

"Hello, Mr. Wei." X3
"Well, hello."

After exchanging greetings, Wei Jin chatted briefly with Xie Feng and Wen Yongshan.

Perhaps having tasted success with "Where Are We Going, Dad?", Xie Feng has been deeply involved in variety shows for the past two years.

First, he partnered with Chen Kun to join "Super Boy" as a judge, and later he took over Shanhe Media's "The Voice of China" to replace Harlem as a mentor.

Last year, he even took on the role of the main guest and collaborated with Jiangsu and Zhejiang TV to create a food variety show called "Chef Nic's Taste of Life".

The show's ratings are quite good, averaging over 1%, which surpasses many TV stations' flagship variety shows. It's said that a second season is already planned.

Meanwhile, Wen Yongshan has been busy promoting "Helios" recently.

The film has already had its premiere at the Beijing International Film Festival, and the crew has been recording related interviews and variety shows in Beijing these past few days.

From what she said, the production team will be going on a nationwide roadshow afterward. After all, it's a 2 million yuan investment, so the production company is taking it very seriously and has a very busy schedule.

As for Ajiao, Wei Jin wasn't very familiar with her, and only exchanged a few polite words with her out of courtesy.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xie Feng and his two companions, being quite perceptive, excused themselves and left first, while Wen Yongshan quietly gave Wei Jin a hand gesture.

"Ah Shan is really good. She's beautiful, has great acting skills, and is easy to manage. In just a few years, she's become the company's star performer. Mr. Wei has excellent taste."

Hearing Huo Wenxi's occasional praise, Wei Jin smiled but did not respond.

As the esteemed Director of Artists at Yinghuang Entertainment and Lao Yang's right-hand man, he can't just be here to act as a pimp, can he?

Sure enough, the next moment Huo Wenxi changed the subject, "Mr. Wei, I heard that Golden Harvest is planning to develop a sequel to 'The Witch'? I wonder if we could collaborate?"

"Sister Mani, your information network is really impressive!"

Wei Jin was somewhat surprised. He had only finalized the project with Shi Nansheng after filming for "Chasing the Dragon" was completed, and Ying Huang had already received the news.

But thinking about it, it's normal. Yinghuang has been rooted and developed in Hong Kong for so many years, its network of relationships must have penetrated into all aspects, which is hard to avoid.

"What does Wei Sheng mean?"

Seeing Huo Wenxi's slightly expectant look, Wei Jin pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“Sister Mani, I’m only doing this because you asked. Once the budget is finalized, Yinghuang will take 30% of the share.”

Huo Wenxi felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this, and his smile became exceptionally bright.

"Wei Sheng, thank you."

As we all know, expressing gratitude requires sincerity.

Huo Wenxi is getting old, while the young actress Wen Yongshan is in the prime of her youth and is naturally the obvious choice.

Even if it means sharing, Wen Yongshan is happy to do so.

Because she had already learned about the sequel to "The Witch" from Huo Wenxi, she really wanted to get the lead role.

After all, the previous film was a leading lady movie that propelled Liu Shishi to stardom, instantly boosting her status in the film industry. Who wouldn't be envious?!
If it's not finalized soon, who knows which ambitious female celebrity it will end up with?

For example, could Zhang Tianai, who has a very aggressive appearance and a really amazing figure, be my competitor?

~~~
(End of this chapter)