During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 804 Officially Announces New Project to Promote Women; Absence Makes the Hearts Feel New

After a night of passion, Wang Zixuan, brimming with positive energy, followed Lu Yang and the main cast and crew of "Brotherhood of Blades 3" to Shanhe Film and Television City to prepare for the start of filming.

According to Lu Yang's estimate, the filming period for this drama will be at least three months.

After all, action scenes and war scenes aren't filmed that way. The same thing happened with "Nobody's Elite 2".

After more than ten hours of fermentation, the impact of the "condemnation" statement grew, and countless people were waiting for the poet Chen's response.

So much so that the fact that "Monster Hunt" grossed 1.68 million yuan on its opening day seemed to have gone unnoticed.

However, Director Chen was quite lucky. It wasn't even noon yet, and several news items suddenly appeared on the front page, which helped him share most of the "public opinion" burden.

"The large-scale fantasy film series 'Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back,' with a production cost of up to 4 million yuan, is officially approved. It is mainly controlled by China Film Group, Ali Pictures Huayi, and Star Shine Pictures, with 17 companies including Wanda and Dadi Cinemas participating in the investment."

"It is understood that the film will follow the plot of 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons,' and will be directed, written, and produced by Stephen Chow, with Tsui Hark as the director, and starring popular actor Kris Wu."

"Ali Pictures will hold a large-scale media launch event for the film 'Thirty Miles of Peach Blossoms' in Beijing on the 25th of this month. Numerous guests from the film and television industry and media will be invited to attend, and details regarding the film's preparation, casting, and other aspects will be announced."

"It is understood that 'Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms' is the second film independently produced by Ali Pictures. It is adapted from the popular online novel of the same name and tells the story of the three-life romance between the Qingqiu princess and the crown prince of the Nine Heavens."

According to reliable sources, Ali Pictures has spent a huge sum of money to acquire the film adaptation rights from Shanhe Media, with the transaction price reaching 1.2 million yuan, breaking the record for domestic film and television copyright transactions.

As expected, the news of the two films caused a sensation in the entertainment industry, with countless people eagerly anticipating their release.

There's no need to elaborate on "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back," as its predecessor, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," grossed nearly 13 billion yuan at the box office.

Although it wasn't directed by Stephen Chow, he served as screenwriter and producer, and with the addition of the billion-dollar genius director Tsui Hark, it's in no way inferior to its predecessor.

With such a strong production team, a production cost of up to 4 million, and the addition of top star Kris Wu, it is definitely a hot project of the year.

"Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" is equally impressive, and may even surpass it!

Compared to "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back," this film is a rare ancient costume mythological romance movie with a strong female lead perspective.

Especially its poignant and beautiful love story filled with separation and resentment, coupled with the record-breaking copyright price of 1.2 million yuan and the countless fans of the original work, made it a truly remarkable story.
"Three Lives Three Worlds" has all the prerequisites for a high-grossing, top-tier mythological blockbuster; its appeal is simply too strong!
Coincidentally, both of these dramas have close ties with Shanhe Media, which has caused Wei Jin to suffer.

Starting from noon, I kept getting phone calls.

Aside from a few people like Ning Hao, Jiang Wen, and Fiber Optic Old Wang who were making fun of the 1.2 million yuan copyright deal, most of the people were acquaintances in the industry, subtly inquiring about the project information.

To be honest, Wei Jin didn't know what these people were thinking. If they could hand over the copyright, didn't that represent his attitude?
However, looking at the production team of "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back", Wei Jin was also quite emotional.

Unexpectedly, Ren Zhonglun, who had only collaborated with him a few times, became his die-hard fan. Just because he didn't participate, he decisively gave up on the project.

On the contrary, Ye Ning, with whom we have a long-term partnership, has become increasingly aggressive in the past two years, determined to expand and strengthen his business.

Not only did they invest in Edko Films' "Monster Hunt," but they've also grown closer to Huayi Brothers. It's uncertain whether they can continue to get along well in the future.

As for Tsui Hark taking on this project, Wei Jin wasn't surprised, given the former's well-known love for special effects.

This kind of mythological movie is definitely his favorite, and he doesn't have to take any risks, so he can go all out!
"dong dong dong~~"

The knocking interrupted Wei Jin's thoughts. Looking up, he saw his assistant, Bao Tianqi, dressed in a business suit, walk in.

"Boss, Director Su has arrived."

"Yes, please let her in."

A short while later, Suren, with her short, neat hair, walked in.

"Mr. Wei, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Director Su, please have a seat."

Suren sat down as instructed, but her body was somewhat stiff and her attitude was very reserved.

She was introduced to the company by Wu Ershan, but now her fellow villager has "defected" to LeEco.

Although it had nothing to do with her, there were still some rumors circulating within the company, which was quite annoying.

However, she was also quite grateful. At the beginning of the year, Nuclear Power Pictures was established. She thought she wouldn't get an original share, but unexpectedly, Wei Jin also considered her.

Wei Jin, who was good at reading people, could guess a little about Su Lun's inner thoughts. After chatting with Su Lun about his past work and expressing his appreciation, he got down to business.

"Director Su, you should know that the company is currently training new directors. The reason I called you here is that I want to give you a project."

While Wei Jin was speaking, his assistant Bao Tianqi placed a script on the table. The cover had a large title: "When a Man Falls in Love".

"Although this film is a remake, it's perfect for you. Are you confident?"

Su Lun's mind went blank at this moment. There had been news from the company before that they were going to train new people, and Sun Hao had already benefited from it.

But she never expected that she would be the second one, considering that she had only been with the company for three years and there were so many senior colleagues.

Leaving aside others, Lin Yufen, who proved herself through "The Left Ear," is the best candidate.

If she weren't insecure about her appearance, she would have thought her boss had something on her mind.

However, faced with this windfall, Su Lun quickly realized what was happening and nodded hurriedly, "President Wei, please rest assured, I will definitely live up to your expectations and do a good job on this project." "Okay, as for the female lead, I have already decided on Bai Bin. For the other roles, you can discuss it with Director Zhang and try to consider the company's artists as much as possible."

The main reason why Wei Jin started this project now is Bai Bin.

Compared to Yang Mi, who is also one of the "Four Little Actresses," Bai Bin has far fewer resources.

Moreover, this girl was devoted to him and rarely asked for resources. Wei Jin sometimes felt sorry for her and thought it was time to support her.

"Okay, Mr. Wei, I will consult with Director Zhang."

Although the casting was interfered with, Suren showed no dissatisfaction and readily agreed with great respect.

Are you kidding me? She's a TV drama director; she's lucky to even have the opportunity to direct a movie. What more could she want?!

"Alright, then you can go and make the preparations first. You can report the follow-up situation directly to President Zhong."

"Okay, Mr. Wei."

With the release of "Monster Hunt" and "Jian Bing Man" in the film market, the real battle for the summer box office has begun.

And the results of these two films were indeed as amazing as the industry had predicted!

"Monster Hunt" has raked in 3.68 million yuan at the box office in just two days, and its current reputation is quite impressive.

Aside from a slightly lower rating of 8.3 on Impression.com, it surprisingly achieved a score of 9.5 on Douban and Maoyan, with the comments section filled with five-star reviews.

Even a fool can see that the production team is consciously controlling the comments. Although this will increase publicity costs, once the reputation advantage is established, these are no longer a problem.

This can be seen from the fact that "Monster Hunt" maintained a high attendance rate for two consecutive days.

In comparison, "Jianbing Man" did a far worse job in this regard.

Despite relying on the power of Sohu, the buzz surrounding "Men's Diary," and the appeal of over fifty industry celebrities, the box office grossed 1.28 million yuan on its opening day.

However, on its very first day of release, it only received a 6.4 rating on Impression.com, and scores below 7 on Maoyan and Douban as well, with a constant stream of complaints.

"Men's Diary was alright, but Da Peng's abilities are clearly insufficient for feature films. 'Jianbing Man' relies entirely on stringing together internet memes, which is very disappointing."

"A vulgar and slapstick comedy, as boring as ever. No special effects, no story. How dare they call this a domestic superhero movie? It's ridiculous!"

"As expected, 99% of domestically produced films with the word 'knight-errant' in their title are terrible. I felt like slapping myself as I left the theater."

"The Fifth Ring Road...you have one more ring than the Fourth Ring Road...that's the only thing in the whole movie that made me laugh, rubbish!"

"."

Despite the audience's criticism, box office figures cannot be faked, and this did not stop a large number of actors, celebrities, and even directors in the industry from congratulating this newly joined member of the 100 million yuan director club!

Sohu, in particular, was incredibly excited as it ventured into the film industry for the first time. They bought countless trending topics related to "Jianbing Man" and Da Peng.

It is foreseeable that for at least the next two weeks, Dapeng will be a prominent figure in the entertainment industry and a frequent visitor to the trending topics—because his starting point was too high.

With a first-day gross of over 100 million, even with a lot of negative reviews, "Jianbing Man" will definitely surpass 800 million, which is more than 99% of directors in the industry!

At least, the Palme d'Or-winning director Chen Shiren has been stuck in the 3 million yuan director club for so many years.

However, it must be admitted that the poet Chen is quite courageous.

Cornered by the condemnation statement, he neither refuted nor struggled, and directly pulled "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" from theaters ahead of schedule.

The film was released for 15 days and its box office finally stopped at 2.86 million yuan. Compared with the production cost of 200 million yuan and the publicity cost of more than 60 million yuan, it was definitely a huge loss.

But rather than lingering on, this low-key exit can be seen as saving face for himself; it also brings an end to the matter of "condemnation".

"The film 'Wu Kong,' produced by New Classics Media and adapted from the popular novel of the same name by online writer Jin Hezai, was officially registered this morning."

"It is understood that the film will be led by Eddie Peng, Shawn Yue, Ni Ni and others, and the remaining supporting roles will also be filled through open auditions. Filming is expected to officially begin in October."

Perhaps feeling that the losses were too great, New Classics Media couldn't wait to launch a new project right after the weekend, and even chose a very popular theme.

However, compared to the newly launched "Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back," the popularity of "The Legend of Wukong" is obviously much lower.

But what industry insiders truly yearn for is still "Once Upon a Time," mainly because there are too few movies featuring strong female leads.

"Husband~~"

In the hotel room of the "Xuanzang" crew, Yang Ying, who came to visit the set, flirted with Huang Xiaoming. The latter immediately understood, but showed a helpless smile on his face.

"I can at most ask around for you, but I can't guarantee it this time."

In fact, Huang Xiaoming had been following the announcement before, but Ah Li said that the preparation and casting would be announced at the project launch conference, which might be different from the previous approach.

Even if he had a good relationship with Zhao Yanzi, a shareholder of Ali, it was absolutely impossible for the role to be pre-arranged like in "The Ferryman".

"Mmm, I know. It's good that you helped me ask. Thank you, honey. There's a reward tonight!"

~~~
(End of this chapter)