Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 889 If You Will Not Abandon Me!

Zhou Mo's reputation as a seasoned driver seemed to spread throughout the entire entertainment industry overnight.

Whether they were ordinary netizens outside the circle, fans, or people inside the circle, they were all repeatedly commenting in Zhou Mo's comment section:

Experienced driver, please guide me.

People like Huang Xiaoming, who are more willing to lower themselves, even left four words in the comments section amidst the fans' jeers:
If you do not abandon me!

When Zhou Mo saw these comments, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Okay.

They're treating him like a dream-weaver, everyone wants him to help them take off.

Seeing Zhou Mo laughing and shaking his head, Da Tiantian was a little puzzled: "What's with your reaction? Don't you like it when everyone's joking around?"

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I think these people are overthinking it. They all think my work is good for winning awards, but the problem is that our company's works don't participate in domestic film festivals, so it's no use for them to come to me." Zhou Mo pointed to several phone numbers on his phone, somewhat helplessly.

Da Tiantian suddenly realized that she had guessed Zhou Mo's meaning.

"You mean those guys who want you to help arrange roles for their kids so they can compete for awards later?"

"Correct."

Zhou Mo nodded.

Previously, some people had asked Zhou Mo to help them arrange a role for their children, but they had never been particularly enthusiastic about it.

As everyone knows, Zhou Mo's own works are not submitted to domestic film festivals.

Moreover, Zhou Mo has been competing for awards many times over the years, and the awards he has won at film festivals are mostly film awards, rather than character awards.

But this time, the Oscar win for "Parasite" has excited everyone who wants to get an award for their child.

Best Supporting Actress Award.

One of the most prestigious character awards in the world.

What does this mean?
This shows that Zhou Mo does not completely avoid competing for the role award, but rather depends on the situation and has relatively high requirements, only participating in role awards with high recognition.

These people were very happy after realizing they had guessed Zhou Mo's habits.

High value and high recognition are good things.

The higher your starting point, the smoother your future path will be.

As a result, many people contacted Zhou Mo, hoping to get a role for their children, preferably one that would win an award in their very first work.

They don't ask for much; the Oscars and the three European awards are too high. An A-level award is the best.

"They want an A-list international award? These people are really asking for anything. Don't they know how difficult it is to win an award at an A-list film festival when you're competing with the whole world?"

Da Tiantian was very annoyed by the people who kept calling Zhou Mo to discuss winning the prize. At first, she found it very annoying when she heard about the "A" level prize from them, but after listening to five or six calls in a row, she just wanted to laugh.

Even she, after so many years of hard work, only has one real international award.

Do you really think that awards at A-list film festivals are like cabbages, something you can just casually take?

It's wishful thinking; there's no such wishful thinking at all.

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Mo shook his head and said helplessly, "Maybe they just think that the A-level award is easy."

"Ok?"

"Before you, there hadn't been any particularly prestigious role awards in China for a while. Actors in the market are probably quite aware of the difficulty of competing for international awards. As for those who just attend meetings every day, have their secretaries write drafts, and then read them aloud, they really don't have much understanding of international awards."

You think they're greedy and trying to take advantage of us, but actually, some of them are still stuck in the era when Zhang Yimou's film made Gong Li a Best Actress award.

The reason no one won awards later was because the directors weren't good enough. Now that I've risen to prominence again, they feel it's okay to arrange for their own kids to win an award...

Da Tiantian was somewhat surprised by Zhou Mo's explanation, but upon closer reflection, it seemed to make sense.

There are indeed some people in the industry who are completely out of touch with the market. Their understanding of the market is still stuck in the era of decades ago. They believe that as long as they shoot well and do a good job, they can achieve great results.

The key question is, what constitutes "shooting well" and what constitutes "doing well"? Nobody can really explain it clearly.

In addition, these people are all quite senior and hold relatively high positions, and their actions have a significant impact.

Thinking of this, Da Tiantian looked at Zhou Mo.

"So what are you going to do? Should I help you turn these people down?"

"No need, just follow the old rules. If you want to take a shortcut through me, then accept the company's arrangements. If you don't want to, then that's fine too. We won't force you."

What if they keep calling you?

"I'm about to film 'The Great Battle,' so if they're not worried about delaying my filming, they can contact me." Zhou Mo was extremely calm, completely unconcerned about anything else.

Although Zhou Mo has used his ability to exaggerate less and less over the years, his proficiency in it has never diminished.

If you want to force your child to gain experience, go ahead.

All you need to do is take over the mission for "The Great Battle".

……

Two days later.

Zhou Mo and his companions have now completely ended their Oscar journey.

Upon returning to China, countless reporters from various media outlets were already waiting at the airport, ready to obtain firsthand information.

Zhou Mo had anticipated this situation, so he simply found a relatively empty spot and began his interview.

Q: Did you expect to win this award?

A: I expect to win an award, but I'm not sure which one.

Q: What are your plans after the Oscars?

A: Continue making films.

Q: Have you ever thought about aiming for the European top three gold medals?

A: It depends on the situation, the state of mind, and luck.

Q: Some people say that the Oscars are becoming less prestigious each year. Do you agree with this statement?
A: This is a rather complex question, and it's difficult to explain in just a few words. I can only say that the competition for this year's Oscars is quite fierce...

As the interview progressed, the reporters on site were surprised to find that Zhou Mo's demeanor this time was completely different from his previous interviews in the past year or two. He was full of enthusiasm for expressing himself, speaking fluently and eloquently, as if he had taken a lot of medicine.

No?

What's going on with you?

I'm willing to say so much today.

Despite their doubts, everyone was still very happy. The more Zhou Mo talked, the more content they could write.

At six o'clock in the evening, Zhou Mo finally left the airport and boarded the car for his return trip.

Inside the car, Da Tiantian was quite surprised by Zhou Mo's unusual behavior today. "We got off the plane at around 4 o'clock, and it's 6 o'clock now. You've been interviewing people for an hour. Which reporter caught you doing something wrong?"

"No, it's just normal promotion, and it also brings a wave of traffic to 'Three Kingdoms: Wei'."

When the movie "Three Kingdoms: Wei" was mentioned, Da Tiantian immediately realized that she hadn't paid attention to any news about the movie for several days.

"The film is currently aiming for a total box office of 70 billion, but it is still a bit far from 80 billion."

Zhou Mo opened his phone and clicked on the data his assistant had sent him earlier.

I watched it roughly once. The Wei version of "Three Kingdoms" performed quite well in the first half of the month, but after the second week, the box office saw a huge decline.

On the one hand, the holiday is over, and many consumers have returned to their daily work routines, leaving them with little time to relax at the cinema.

On the other hand, the production team stopped promoting the film after Zhou Mo went to Amei. The two biggest promotional points of the film had both disappeared, and there was really nothing left to promote.

However, this situation reversed after "Parasite" won an Oscar.

For three consecutive days, the box office of "Three Kingdoms: Wei" saw a daily decline.

Today, there is an even greater chance of achieving a small peak.

Therefore, the company hopes that Zhou Mo will appear in public as much as possible. It doesn't necessarily mean that he has to mention "Three Kingdoms". As long as he increases his exposure, the box office of "Three Kingdoms" will be positively affected.

After figuring out the situation, Da Tiantian thought about what she could do.

"Should I do some interviews or a TV show in the next few days?"

“Sure, we can talk about the Oscars, Parasite, or the filming of Three Kingdoms, it’s all up to you,” Zhou Mo said casually.

In terms of box office appeal, Jing Tian is now even stronger than him.

With his box office appeal, plus Jing Tian's box office draw, the target of 8 billion should be a sure thing.

At this moment, the assistant driving in the front seat suddenly spoke up:

"Director Zhou, you might also be able to do a second release of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. During your time in America, the total purchase volume of our animated version of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' has reached more than 2.8 billion, and it is estimated that it should break through 3 billion within a month."

Zhou Mo was somewhat surprised.

The animated version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has been officially broadcast for less than half a year.

With over five months and 2.8 billion purchases, it can certainly be called the number one domestic animation based on the data.

"Okay, then I'll also grant a visit. Has the company made any plans yet?"

"It's ready. I'll send it to you as soon as I get back."

"it is good."

Over the next few days, Zhou Mo either participated in interviews and meetings related to "Parasite" or interviews related to "Three Kingdoms".

Meanwhile, "Three Kingdoms: Wei" finally achieved a nine-figure daily box office on its twentieth day of release.

February 15th.

After finishing a meeting in the morning, Zhou Mo returned to the company in the afternoon. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Da Tiantian and a large group of employees cheering.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Zhou Mo, we've achieved a single-day box office of 1.7 million! We've now steadily broken through 80 billion in box office revenue. Now it's just a matter of whether we can reach 85 billion!" Da Tian Tian explained the situation to Zhou Mo with a big smile.

With the combined boost from the Oscars and the weekend, the number of moviegoers on this day increased by 40 percent compared to the previous day.

Jing Tian even felt a little regretful; if she had known the movie's box office would grow like this, she would have returned the day after the Oscars.

If they come back to promote the film a day earlier, the box office revenue can increase by tens of millions.

Every movie ticket represents better results and higher box office revenue.

Seeing that everyone looked so cheerful, Zhou Mo joined in the fun.

"Tonight, everyone go to the XX Hotel. Order whatever you want!"

"Director Zhou is awesome!"

"May Director Zhou be in good health!"

"Director Zhou, I want to have your babies!"

"Get lost, you pervert!"

Amidst the noise, Zhou Mo returned to his office.

I had only been sitting down for a few minutes when a phone call came in.

"Hey, Mr. Han, it's been a long time. I've even missed you."

"We just met at noon, what are you joking about... Let's not talk about that, I have something important to tell you on this call."

"What's going on? Why is it so exaggerated?" Zhou Mo asked curiously.

Since Han Sanping retired, Zhou Mo has rarely heard the word "important" from his mouth.

This level of opportunity only arises when projects like "The Great Battle" or "The Three-Body Problem" come knocking.

Is it another big mission?
"Don't be nervous, this isn't a new request." Han Sanping seemed to have guessed Zhou Mo's thoughts and immediately explained, "It's like this, your 'Three Kingdoms' is doing very well at the box office right now, and it has a good chance of hitting 85 billion."

"Great. 85 billion isn't far from 10 billion, so the company asked me to ask you if you'd be willing to extend the film's run for another month and try to break the 10 billion mark?"

Zhou Mo frowned slightly after hearing this.

He doesn't actually mind giving the movie a time delay, but the problem is that a month might not be enough to reach the 10 billion target.

Judging from the current situation, the audience willing to watch "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has basically been exhausted.

The difficulty of earning an additional 15 billion or more in one month is likely to be much greater than the difficulty of reaching 80 billion in the first month.

Han Sanping waited a while for Zhou Mo's response, but heard no sound. She continued, "I know you've never really liked this kind of delayed method, so this call is just to ask, not to force you."

Zhou Mo wouldn't easily believe the words "not forcing," and asked again, "President Han, could you please give me a straight answer? Is it really not forcing, or is it just a lie?"

"We really don't force it. The company is well aware of the difficulty of reaching 10 billion, so we just want to give it a try. The most important thing is your opinion."

"You're now a two-time Oscar winner for your films, and the company will be taking your preferences very seriously. Everyone believes that even if you don't reach 10 billion this time, you will definitely achieve it in the future. So, whether or not the film is delayed is ultimately your decision."

Zhou Mo nodded; these words were comforting and reassuring.

"Since that's the case, Mr. Han, I'll just say this: my stance is that there's no delay, and the value of the 'Immortal and Mortal' worldview IP still has room for growth."

This delay might indeed boost box office revenue, but it will also affect the film's future performance, so it's best to just pull it off the run as normal.

I am confident that the next film in the series will achieve even greater success.

Han Sanping carefully considered Zhou Mo's idea, and after a moment replied, "Okay, since you are confident, then I will help you pass on the message."

(End of this chapter)