During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 871 A Woman with a Problem with Her Mind and a Fading Beauty (Wolf Warrior 2)

Every year, the Spring Festival film season is a watershed moment, around the Lantern Festival.

Before the Lantern Festival, the momentum is fierce and unruly; but after the Lantern Festival, it becomes listless and sluggish, like a man entering a period of sagehood.

The main reason for this is that most domestic enterprises resume work and production after the Lantern Festival, resulting in a significant loss of viewers and a sharp decline in the overall market.

This year's Spring Festival film season was no exception, following the same pattern.

Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid" broke box office records in the Wei and Jin Dynasties before the Lantern Festival, with box office revenue exceeding 26 billion yuan.
However, after the Lantern Festival, its daily revenue plummeted, from 70 to 80 million to just over 30 million, completely losing its previous explosive growth.

Even so, after 25 days of release, "The Mermaid" stubbornly crossed the 30 billion yuan box office threshold, creating a new era for Chinese-language films!

As a director, Stephen Chow jumped from the 10 billion yuan director club to become the first director in China to reach the 30 billion yuan director club in less than a month, making him the most talked-about director in the country, and attracting a lot of media coverage.

Despite some bitterness and jealousy, there are no fools in the entertainment industry. Countless industry peers and even celebrities are congratulating him through various channels, including big names in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.

They could tag the production company, Stephen Chow himself, or actors like Deng Chao or Nazha.

No one expected that on what should have been a memorable day, that plump lady from Hong Kong would post a sarcastic Weibo post that ruined the atmosphere.

"It's hilarious! Knowing full well that the box office figures are ridiculously fake, so many people are still sucking up to them. Okay, I'll congratulate them too."

Well, I wish "The Mermaid" could break out of Asia, reach the ends of the universe, and ideally break "Avatar's" box office record—that would be hilarious!

The Weibo post immediately sparked public outrage. After all, everyone was having a good time, and this eyesore had to jump out and disgust people.

In addition, this family already had a lot of negative press and negative reports, so netizens weren't going to tolerate her. They swarmed around her and started criticizing her on Weibo for most of the morning.

As we all know, netizens are quite ruthless when it comes to attacking, and their ability to mock and be sarcastic can easily break a person's defenses.

Sure enough, around noon, Mrs. Fat's husband, Long Wu, couldn't stand it anymore and unusually posted a Weibo message to defend her.

The gist of the message was that he loves his wife very much and hopes that netizens will be mindful of their words, put themselves in his shoes, and not speak ill of a wife and mother.

Good heavens, it would have been better if Long Wu hadn't spoken out; now that he has, the internet is in even more chaos, and Long Wu is being criticized as well.

After all, although netizens' criticism was excessive, the fat woman brought it on herself. We should first figure out right and wrong, okay?
Many people in the industry were watching the couple make a fool of themselves, but it was only noon when they noticed the trending topics had suddenly changed.

"Due to repeated violations of the Weibo Community Guidelines, including wanton insults, attacks, and defamation, multiple accounts have been punished, with the most severe penalty being a 90-day ban."

"It is understood that the list of banned accounts includes Hong Kong celebrity Chen Lan, who has been banned from speaking before."

According to Weibo's backend operations staff, this action was taken solely due to a large number of platform complaints and reports. The penalty is reasonable and compliant, and does not involve any other reasons. Please do not believe or spread rumors.

"Trying to cover up the truth? If no one gave prior notice, would Weibo really ban someone like this? I don't believe it for a second!"

At the celebration banquet for "From Vegas to Macau III" in Beijing, Fatty Yu raised his glass and said decisively.

After all, Weibo is an internet company. The higher the topic's popularity, the more traffic it gets. Why would they bother with such trivial matters?
"Does Chairman Yu mean that President Wei made the move?" The new Crystal Girl asked eagerly with a smile.

"Of course. There's no one else but him who has a direct interest in this and can get it done. Didn't he come once during the preliminary selection?"

"Sigh, I told Xiang Sheng a long time ago that things are different now than before, and we need to keep a closer eye on that guy, but he still does whatever he wants."

Wang Pangzi, who has always had a good relationship with the Xiang family, rarely complained, and his complaints had a hint of "disappointment in their lack of progress".

It's important to understand that things are not like they were twenty years ago. The mainland market has expanded to over 50 billion yuan, making it an absolute battleground.

To succeed in the mainland, one must understand the industry landscape, identify the factions within it, prioritize reputation, and even try to distance oneself from the past as much as possible!

But this guy is different; he hasn't changed his ways at all. He still can't let go of some old grudges from years ago, as if he has no brains at all.

They've been nitpicking ever since the auditions for "The Mermaid." Now that it's almost out of theaters, they're still spouting nonsense. Don't they even know who the production company behind it is?

Whether it's industry leader Shanhe Media or two major state-owned enterprises, China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group, which one can Huaxia Star afford to offend?

Wang Jing had a premonition that if he let that woman continue like this, Huaxia Star would be doomed!

"So, this matter should be considered over now, right? Will we be targeted later?"

Upon hearing Liu Jialing's words, Fatty Yu's heart skipped a beat. He thought of the TV series "League of Gods" that Berna and Huaxia Star had collaborated on.

"It wouldn't be that bad. Even if we don't respect the monk, we should respect the Buddha. Chairman Yu has a good relationship with these companies. Let's continue drinking; this collaboration has been very pleasant."

Fatty Wang changed the subject, and Fatty Yu chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, today is a happy day, let's keep drinking, we won't leave until we're drunk!"

In an instant, the celebratory atmosphere returned to its usual cheerful merriment, but in Fatty's heart, an ominous premonition lingered.
Wei Jin was unaware of Fatty Yu's worries; at that moment, he was at a postpartum care center in a private hospital, accompanying Yan Danchen and her daughter.

It has to be said that babies in the postpartum period really do change every day.

In just one week, the little girl has grown quite a bit, and you can vaguely see Yan Danchen's features in her eyebrows.

While playing with the baby, Wei Jin also inquired about his senior's health.

Compared to Liu Yan when she gave birth, Yan Danchen was older and in much worse condition after giving birth, which is why she has been living here.

"Actually, I'm recovering quite well, and I think I can go home now. I'm not used to being here, and it's expensive, so it's really not worth it."

Although Yan Danchen said this, it was clear that she enjoyed the feeling of being cared for and looked after, and her face was full of smiles.

“Isn’t the money I earn meant for you to spend? Besides, it’s only tens of thousands of dollars a day. Your husband is the richest man in Asia, he can afford it. Just stay here in peace, and we’ll talk about going home after 42 days.”

At this point, Wei Jin paused, a playful look appearing on his face, "Or is it that you're not used to being here, senior, mainly because you can't be intimate?"

"Ugh, who's doing this all day?"

Before Yan Danchen could finish speaking, her daughter started crying. Wei Jin teased, "See? Even Yan Yan can't stand your lies anymore."

Yan Danchen rolled her eyes at Wei Jin. "Stop being so cheeky. Give me the child. She must be hungry."

Wei Jin skillfully handed the child to Yan Danchen, who then unabashedly lifted her clothes and began breastfeeding.

It must be acknowledged that childbirth truly is a woman's second spring of development, and Yan Danchen's already advantageous figure expanded by half a size.

Of course, she was far inferior to Liu Yan, so her breast engorgement problem wasn't as severe, and she didn't need Wei Jin's help.

While Yan Danchen was breastfeeding, Wei Jin checked the film market. Yang Mi's film, "The Witness," had been released today. Although it was a low-budget film, thanks to the participation of Yang Mi and Lu Han, its screenings in theaters were quite strong, averaging 21%.

According to data from theaters, the occupancy rate is quite good, reaching 64.7% during non-prime time hours, so the opening day results should be decent.

After thinking it over, Wei Jin still posted a Weibo to help promote the film, since he hadn't even attended the premiere and didn't want to upset Yang Mi.

As expected, within just half an hour, Wei Jin's Weibo post was wildly reposted by various celebrities, and many even commented that they had booked out the entire venue.

Yang Mi, who is also the producer, co-producer, and lead actress, made a video call to Wei Jin after finishing her promotional tour to express her gratitude.

That seductive voice and the black stockings and suspender skirt made Boss Wei unable to resist pulling the senior into a deep verbal exchange.
As it turns out, Wei Jin's judgment was accurate, and "The Witness" performed quite well after its release.

On its opening day, it grossed 4672 million yuan!
Although the daily box office of the film market often exceeds 100 million yuan, it is already quite impressive for a new director and a low-budget production.

After adjustments by Shanhe Media, the script received fairly good reviews online, with a score of 7.1 on Impression.com.

Even if a lot of the votes are specific to certain fans and might drop in a few days, it can definitely maintain its potential for more than half a month.

In other words, even though March is a relatively quiet month for releases, it shouldn't be a problem for "The Witness" to break the 5 million yuan mark at the box office.

This led to Yang Mi and Lu Han's fans being overjoyed after the media reports came out, and the internet was filled with jubilation.

Unfortunately, despite such a stunning start, the main cast and crew failed to trend on social media.

Even this Saturday, the box office results of all the movies were not the focus of netizens' attention.

All of this stemmed from a message released by Heian-kyō (the capital city of Kyoto) at 8:00 AM.

The female celebrity known as the most beautiful Daji (a legendary femme fatale in Chinese mythology) and her younger sister were arrested a few days ago after being reported by the Chaoyang residents for drug use and harboring others at home.

The news immediately sparked heated discussions across the internet, leaving countless netizens shocked, sighing, and filled with regret!
"She was our goddess back then, who would have thought she'd get involved with that stuff for eight years? Sigh."

In the small fiber optic conference room, Wu Jing talked about the news online, his face full of emotion, a reminiscence of his youth and a regret for the passing years.

"Old Wu, you're a guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes. You have a family and kids, yet you're still lamenting about your childhood goddess."

"Thank goodness Xie Nan was out on fieldwork today, otherwise if she heard that, you'd be kneeling on a washboard when you get home tonight, hahaha!"

Wei Jin's banter resonated with Wang Changtian, who laughed along.

However, they could both understand, after all, the Daji in the 90 version of "Investiture of the Gods" was indeed undeniably worthy of the words "bringing disaster to the country and the people"!
The costumes, makeup, and props in the show were incredibly impressive; many scenes would not pass censorship today due to being too explicit and revealing.

But for teenagers, Daji in the play is sexy and charming, with her sheer veils fluttering and her seductive charm is absolutely goddess-level!
Not to mention Wu Jing, even the Wei and Jin dynasties in their past and present lives secretly fantasized about it.

It's a pity that such a beauty faded with age and ended up like this; how can one not sigh with regret?
"Jiangsu TV is going to be in trouble this time. I heard that they just acquired the copyright to 'The Warring States Period of Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law' and also invested in a TV series starring Fu Yiwei. Now they have no choice but to stop it."

Upon hearing the news from Lao Wang, Wei Jin raised an eyebrow, not entirely surprised. The most beautiful Daji had no background with the Dragon Prince, so she was definitely going to be blacklisted.

"That's a bit of a disaster, but the TV station is a large and powerful organization, so the impact isn't too great."

"That's true."

After chatting for a while, Wei Jin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Wu Jing seriously, saying, "Alright, let's talk about 'Wolf Warrior 2'."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Jing handed over the script and a detailed budget. The main purpose of today's meeting was to discuss this matter.

"President Wei, Chairman Wang, the budget for this project has reached 2.5 million."

"How much? 2.5 million?!"

Before Wang Changtian could even read the details, he was shocked by the number and looked at Wu Jing with a questioning gaze.

I did say before that the cost of the sequel would be much higher, but you call this much higher? This is three times higher!

And a commercial film with a military theme has a budget of 2.5 million? If word gets out, which industry peer wouldn't be cursing?

Old Wang felt that Wu Jing had gotten too big for his britches. Did one successful film really make him think he was a great director?
"Chairman Wang, please don't rush and listen to me. This budget is indeed very high, but it's all spent on production, including pre-production training and filming abroad, which are all very expensive."

And as I mentioned before, this time the scale will be much larger, involving military equipment and even warships. We can't just get everything for free, can we? I genuinely want to make a military blockbuster.”

Wu Jing explained at length, his expression quite serious, clearly showing his eagerness for a sequel.

"That's what you say, but isn't this too big of a scale? The production cost is 2.5 million, and with the minimum guarantee for publicity and distribution, it will be 3 million or even more."

Even with some advertising revenue, the box office would need to reach at least 800 million to break even, let alone make a profit. How much did your first film gross? I remember it was only 7.77 million, right?

"Forehead"

Faced with Lao Wang's question, Wu Jing was momentarily speechless and didn't know how to respond.

Because what the former said is correct. A military-themed movie with an investment of 2.5 million yuan is indeed very risky, without a doubt!
"But Chairman Wang, the market size has grown a lot now, hasn't it?"

Wu Jing continued to try, while Wei Jin, having finished reading the script, looked at Old Wang and teased:
"Brother, you're the one who wants to get on board, and you're also the one who's afraid to take the risks. How about I take it all on myself?"

Wei Jin's words undoubtedly expressed his optimism, and Wu Jing immediately gave him a grateful smile.

Old Wang stopped worrying about it and instead asked, "Let's put the budget aside for now. Do you have any ideas on how to divide the shares?"

"According to the previous agreement, Mr. Wei will take 50%, and I can only cover a maximum of 20% of the remaining 50% myself."

Fifty million is all the savings Wu Jing can currently afford.

"Thirty percent?"

Old Wang quickly calculated the risks in his mind, while also glancing at Wei Jin, who had a half-smile on his face.

With a determined look, Old Wang made his decision: "Alright, we'll take the remaining 30% for fiber optic!"

Wei Jin smiled, picked up his teacup, and said, "Chairman Wang, Director Wu, then it will be a pleasure to cooperate!"

"Thank you both, it's been a pleasure doing business with you!"

(End of this chapter)