Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 876: Warcraft 2 Released
Zhou Mo watched Tom's performance quietly without saying a word.

Tom waited for a long time but still got no response, so he sighed repeatedly.

"Zhou, you are such a cold-blooded person."

"I am actually very enthusiastic, but I only give my enthusiasm to the one I love, so forget it."

Tom didn't care about Zhou Mo's teasing at all. He just looked around and finally asked, "Zhou, didn't Miss Jing come with you this time?"

"Well, what happened?"

Tom rubbed his hands together, with a mercenary smile on his face: "Zhou, look, we have been working together for so many years, and we know each other very well. Are you interested in reaching some new cooperation with the company?"

New collaboration?

Zhou Mo glanced at Tom and understood what he meant.

"Warner wants to make a movie with Tiantian?"

"Yes, that's what the company means. Miss Jing's achievements in recent years have shocked many of us. Even if her box office is placed internationally, it can be compared with many first-line stars.

If Miss Jing is able to cooperate with the company, our company is willing to offer the highest salary to tailor a movie for Miss Jing."

Tom slowly stated the conditions offered by the company. In his opinion, as long as the above conditions were stated, they would immediately attract Zhou Mo.

After all, they are Warner!

However, after listening to this, Zhou Mo just shook his head.

"Thank you for your kindness, but no thanks."

Tom was stunned for a few seconds. He never expected that Zhou Mo would reject this proposal so straightforwardly.

"why?"

"Her plans for the next few years have already been arranged." Zhou Mo explained.

Of course, this is just an interface.

In fact, there is no point in cooperating with Warner.

Given Da Tiantian's current situation, if she were to star in a Warner movie as the leading actress, the result would definitely not be good.

Not to mention reaching the level of "Eastern Han Dynasty", it can earn 40 billion box office in China alone.

By then, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve even 1 million US dollars worldwide.

Cultural cognition, style and preferences are all different.

Even if Warner said it was a custom-made film, and it actually did so, in the end it was just another "Pacific Rim 2."

Meaningless.

Seeing that Zhou Mo's attitude was very decisive, Tom simply stopped trying to persuade him.

"Well, although I haven't been able to deepen our cooperation with you, I hope that the cooperation between you and the company can continue. The current situation is a win-win for both of us."

Zhou Mo smiled, "Of course, I have always felt that Warner is a very good partner.

As for you, my friend, you are my best partner! ”

……

Mid-December.

Zhou Mo returned to China by plane.

He did not go to the crew of "Three Kingdoms" again. Da Tiantian would report the situation of the crew to him every day. The filming of the movie has been very smooth and it is estimated that it will be completed in a few days.

After returning to the company, Zhou Mo first learned about the promotion of "Warcraft 2".

From the current perspective, each of the three promotional videos for "Warcraft 2" has received a lot of support and praise.

Especially the image of Henry in the promotional video, every time it appears, the actor's fans and movie fans will shout "lick the screen".

The reason for this is that, after a few years, Henry looked older when filming "Warcraft 2" than when filming "Warcraft 1".

Including the skin, wrinkles, eyebrows and eyes, they are all moving towards an older age.

But it is this kind of movement that fits perfectly with the state of Arthas' skin gradually shrinking and muscles contracting after he became a Death Knight.

The audience was very satisfied with this change, and believed that it was proof that the crew was serious enough and had a good attitude towards filming.

When the audience is satisfied, their willingness to consume will naturally increase.

"So you're extending your theory to include emotional values?"

In the company, Zhou Mo was discussing publicity matters with the company's publicity director.

The Minister of Publicity is in his forties. He joined Shanhe Company in the second year after its establishment. He is responsible for many matters concerning the company's publicity and has his own set of publicity theories.

Hearing Zhou Mo's ridicule, the Minister of Publicity said with a smile: "Consumers spend money not only to buy products, but also to enjoy the services during the purchase process. To make them feel that the money is worth spending and happy, it should not be limited to the movie itself. This is the meaning of publicity."

"It means selling services. I originally thought that this kind of operation should be reflected in physical consumption like Haidilao."

"There is service in every consumption process, it's just a matter of how much." The Minister of Propaganda talked about his theory.

Zhou Mo nodded slightly: "Then I'll let you promote the news about Blizzard's Warcraft 3 remake later, right?"

The Minister of Propaganda raised his eyebrows, somewhat delighted.

This is "Warcraft 3", the childhood memory of many people.

"Warcraft 3 Reforged is really going to be released? Will it not be delayed this time?"

"Yes, they have already made a final decision within the company. This time, it must be released before February next year."

The Minister of Propaganda rubbed his hands, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth upwards.

He was also a loyal player of "Warcraft 3" back then.

Know every cheat and every menu in the game.

"Blizzard has finally behaved like a human being. I originally thought that this so-called remake would be like all the empty promises Blizzard has made in the past, and it would die at some point."

Seeing how excited he was, Zhou Mo suddenly felt reluctant to tell him the truth.

The fact is, "Warcraft 3", the remake of the game that countless people love, is based on the defense.

The kind that is so rubbish that it cannot be rubbish.

It's just something that is put on the shelves to make money.

"Lao Liu, I know you are very excited, but don't get excited yet."

Ok?
Lao Liu: “What do you mean?”

"What I mean is that there is a high probability that the remastered version of Warcraft 3 will be garbage. All the things promised at the beginning have not been achieved, and even some basic optimizations have not been done well, so you'd better be mentally prepared."

Old Liu was stunned for a moment, and after a long while he slowly spoke:
"Director Zhou, is the news true?"

"Well, this news was told to me by a friend of mine in Blizzard, and he also sent me an internal trial video. Do you want to take a look?"

"No, thanks." Old Liu immediately shook his head and refused.

Knowing that this work is not worth the wait is disappointing enough. If you look at the content, it’s not disappointment, but sadness.

After a moment, Lao Liu continued, "Since the quality of the Warcraft 3 remastered version is very poor, we have to slightly change our previous promotional ideas."

The promotion of "Warcraft 2" coincided with the release of the remastered version of the game, so these days Shanhe Company has been using the news of the remastered version of the game to increase the popularity of the movie.

News like "Old players have returned" and "Re-battle for Azeroth" can be found on major platforms almost every day.

Zhou Mo also nodded and asked Lao Liu what he thought. "Then how do you think we should adjust it?"

"We will continue to promote the game remake, but we will divert some of the traffic to the topic of 'Who is the real Blizzard?' to get players and viewers to complain about Blizzard. We will respect the audience by promoting the plot of our movie."

Lao Liu’s thoughts can be summed up in one sentence:

Using Blizzard for publicity.

After Lao Liu finished speaking, Zhou Mo immediately applauded.

This idea is good.

It can enjoy the traffic brought by the remastered version of "Warcraft 3" without being dragged down by the poor quality of future games.

"Since you have a plan, I'll leave the rest to you, Lao Liu. Is that ok?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

After returning to work, Lao Liu no longer had the same obsession with Blizzard as before.

At this moment, all he had in his eyes were his competitors and tools.

three days later.

December 16th.

The Warcraft 2 movie is officially released.

This time, Zhou Mo randomly found a theater to watch a movie and sat alone in a corner to listen to the audience's reactions.

After watching the movie, Zhou Mo immediately noticed the difference in the audience's reactions when watching "Warcraft 2" and "Warcraft 1".

In "Warcraft 1", the audience will follow Arthas's emotional fluctuations throughout and react differently, including anger, seriousness, and confusion.

Especially in the Stratholme section of "Warcraft 1", there were almost no audience members talking during the movie and the entire theater was very quiet.

But during today's screening of "Warcraft 2", the audience was excited almost the entire time, cheering every once in a while.

What are you cheering for?
Cheers! Arthas controls thousands of troops and leads his own army of death with his outstanding talent for war. He is like a no-man's land in the enemy camp. Every time he swings his sword, he can take away a group of enemies, and every time he charges, he can break through a group of troops.

The movie is more than two hours long, but the war scenes take over an hour.

During this hour or so, Arthas defeated one enemy after another and won victory after victory.

Every victory can drive the emotions of the audience.

After the movie ended, the audience left one after another.

Zhou Mo heard several audience members behind him discussing their thoughts on the movie:
“Big scene, big production, big handsome guy!”

"The special effects in this movie are ridiculously good. It doesn't seem like the technology is from the same generation as the first movie. How much did Zhou Mo spend on making this movie?"

"Henry is so handsome. I thought he was handsome enough in Warcraft 1, but I didn't expect him to be even more handsome in Warcraft 2. I am willing to fight for this white-haired Arthas!"

"Damn, why do you have this expression? You don't have any special fetish, do you?"

"Tsk, so you don't like Henry's outfit?"

"...Well, he is indeed quite handsome."

Zhou Mo followed the crowd out of the cinema, and a smile gradually appeared on his face halfway through.

Judging from the reviews of the movie by the audience in the theater, "Warcraft 2" is basically a sure thing.

At least for the first batch of game fans and sentimental fans, it is definitely a sure thing.

The next step is to determine the reactions of other fans.

Zhou Mo turned on his phone and started searching for reactions to "Warcraft 2" on the Internet.

The show he watched was a midnight show, and the movie had already been playing all day, so a lot of reviews had accumulated.

Find a related topic and click on the comment section.

Take a quick look.

The most frequently appearing comments can be summed up in one word:
Cool!
The pace of "Warcraft 2" is very fast. When filming, Zhou Mo deliberately skipped the scenes where Arthas' mentality gradually changed after he became a Death Knight.

From the beginning, this guy was a complete, dedicated warrior who served the Lich King wholeheartedly.

Therefore, he would not hesitate when launching a war, attack a city, and show no mercy when fighting against those he knew in the past.

Such a change may seem a bit abrupt to ordinary audiences.

But who is the target audience of Warcraft 2?

For players, changing camps is easier than eating or drinking!

When playing "World of Warcraft" back then, who hasn't tried playing as several races, and who hasn't chosen different camps in the online game to experience different plots.

Therefore, when the movie showed Arthas's ruthlessness and decisiveness, the audience basically immediately put themselves into the shoes of the fallen prince whose mind had been polluted by Frostmourne.

The main theme is an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

If you dare to disobey me, I will attack you.

If you dare to stop me, I will attack you.

Dare to attack me, or Tama's attack!
Zhou Mo looked at the comments, and saw the comments made by those who thought the audience thought they were Arthas. The smile on his face lasted for a long time.

"I have long been the king of Lordaeron."

"My father's throne will eventually be passed to me, so this throne is mine. Now my father is sitting on my throne, isn't he being disrespectful? He deserves to be killed!"

"I don't understand why these people are running away. As the king of Lordaeron, I gave these people eternal life, but not only did they not accept it, they also wanted to beat me up?"

"This king is not limited to talking, and by the way, I will also give you a Death Coil."

Zhou Mo read them one by one until the next day.

By the time he reacted, it was already daybreak.

"Well, is it that late already?"

Zhou Mo looked at the time. It was past seven in the morning. He hesitated whether to take a nap before going to the company.

At this time, a phone call came.

"Who is it, so early?"

The call was answered and it turned out to be Henry Cavill.

"What's the matter, Henry, calling me so early in the morning?"

"Morning? Oh... I'm so sorry, Zhou, I forgot there's a time difference between us." Henry apologized twice on the phone and got down to business: "It's like this, didn't I tell you before that some of my fans in China prepared a gift for me? I learned the details of this gift a few hours ago."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's a super large figurine of Arthas, with both the Holy Light and Death Knights, carved out of wood, very beautifully."

Carved from wood?

Zhou Mo was stunned and thought for a long time before he reacted.

"You mean a large wood sculpture?"

"Yes, yes, it is a wooden sculpture. It is more than one meter high, almost two meters."

Zhou Mo was amazed. This was indeed a huge surprise.

(End of this chapter)