Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 893 I Want to Lower the Price!

Upon hearing this, Da Tiantian compared the wood carving with Zhou Mo's for a while before shaking her head.

“I think it’s less than 80%. I don’t know if it’s because you’ve lost facial fat or what, but you look better in the last few years.”

Zhou Mo rubbed his chin, somewhat surprised.

"is it?"

"Yes, your eyelids used to be the type with more fat, so they would easily swell if you didn't get enough rest. But in the past few years, you've lost some fat in your eyelids, and your eye shape has become more beautiful... I really envy those of you who are born with the ability to accumulate fat on your faces."

The assistant, who had been standing quietly to the side, was taken aback upon hearing this and said:
"No, having a lot of facial fat isn't a problem, it just makes you look fat, doesn't it?"

"It's not that the whole face is fat, but certain areas, such as the eyelids or the cheekbones. Some people are born with thin fat in these areas, so they look good when they are young, but as they get older, they look dry."

People like Zhou Mo, who have a bit of fat, might look a little chubby when they're young, but as they get older and lose that fat, they actually look better..."

Zhou Mo raised an eyebrow: "But I was handsome when I was young too."

Da Tiantian raised her chin: "Yes, yes, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen you at first glance. It's just that you're even more handsome now."

"Huh? You chose me, not because my script is good, right?"

"Well, actually I saw you at school first, and then I found out about your background and realized that you were quite famous at school."

Zhou Mo was shocked.

"So you've been lusting after me all this time, you..."

Click.

The assistant silently walked a few meters away, looked at the two pretentious, dramatic leaders, and sighed.

……

A few hours later.

The celebration banquet proceeded smoothly, and all procedures were completed.

Zhou Mo sat in the chair, rubbing his hands, which ached from giving out red envelopes and gifts.

A few years ago, as payment methods became more convenient, Shanhe Company changed its red envelope distribution model.

However, this time, due to the outstanding achievements of "Three Kingdoms: Wei", many people, including Da Tiantian and Lao Jiang, want to relive the feeling of giving out red envelopes back then, as a kind of celebration.

Seeing this, Zhou Mo agreed.

However, there were just too many people at the family banquet this time, which greatly increased the workload of handing out red envelopes. By the time everyone had received theirs, Zhou Mo felt that his voice was hoarse.

A crunch.

Jiang Wu sat down next to Zhou Mo.

"Oh my god, I'm exhausted. Sending out just one red envelope almost made me break out in a sweat."

Zhou Mo handed him a bottle of soda, but Jiang Wu only glanced at it before waving his hand away.

"No, I can't drink this."

"Ah, what's wrong?"

"It has too much sugar. If I finish this bottle, I'll exceed my daily calorie limit again."

Zhou Mo was speechless. He hadn't really focused on controlling his weight, so he usually didn't count calories. However, in his memory, Da Tian Tian had adjusted her weight several times, but she hadn't been this strict with it.

"Just one bottle? Isn't that a bit excessive?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wu glanced at Zhou Mo.

“If it’s just about controlling weight, one or two bottles won’t be a big problem, but don’t forget, I not only need to control my weight, but more importantly, I need to control my body shape. I haven’t indulged myself for many years.”

At this point, Jiang Wu sighed.

"Once you embark on the path of body shape, there's no turning back."

Zhou Mo glanced at Jiang Wulu's muscles visible through his clothes and asked, "Brother Wu, you're not the kind of bodybuilder who pulls the coffin with nine dragons, are you?"

"Nine dragons pulling a coffin? What does that mean?"

"Those fitness enthusiasts who inject various kinds of drugs during their workouts."

"You mean this? No, I don't." Jiang Wu waved his hand and rolled up his sleeve to show Zhou Mo his muscles: "See? My muscle lines are just very obvious, but they're not like those rock-hard lines. The fat layer is also a bit thick. This is basically the limit of non-drug fitness."

While this situation may not be visually appealing, it won't significantly impact physical health or even lifespan.

Zhou Mo nodded.

"That's good. Brother Wu, you're not young anymore, you should take care of your health."

Jiang Wu smiled and said, "I thought you weren't satisfied with my current figure and wanted me to be thinner."

Zhou Mo immediately waved his hand.

"How could that be? I have high standards for actors, but not this kind of high standards. Although China has always lacked tall and strong tough guy actors, if they are obtained by taking drugs, then forget it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Da Tiantian sat down on the other side of Zhou Mo.

"I heard you talking about administering medicine. Is someone sick?"

"No, it's because Brother Wu feels his muscle mass isn't big enough, so he wants to try a more scientific method," Zhou Mo joked.

Da Tiantian instantly understood Zhou Mo's meaning, and frowned slightly as she looked at Jiang Wu.

"Brother Wu, it can't be that bad. Taking drugs is really bad for your body. It's not necessary for making a movie. Your style isn't about showing off your muscles."

Helpless, Jiang Wu patted Zhou Mo on the shoulder.

"You really have a knack for ruining people. I don't take medicine, I don't get injections, and I don't know anything about scientific fitness. Don't listen to his nonsense."

Da Tiantian suddenly realized and patted Zhou Mo lightly.

"Mischief again."

Over the next hour or so, Zhou Mo finally had some time to chat with the other members of the crew and also fill his stomach.

As the banquet drew to a close, the assistant came over.

"Director Zhou, everything is ready."

"Okay, let me finish this bite..."

A moment later, Zhou Mo and his assistant slowly walked to the front of the stage.

Inside the banquet hall, the guests, who had eaten and drunk their fill, and the reporters, who had relaxed, were all stunned when they saw Zhou Mo's figure.

The banquet is almost over, what is this person planning to do now?
Randomly, many people's eyes revealed an expectant look.

The fact that they're only speaking out at this time means they must have something important to say.

Some guests and reporters had already left, and those who stayed were really lucky to have stumbled upon a big news story.

After Zhou Mo took the stage, he didn't say any more pleasantries and went straight to the point:

"Today's banquet, besides celebrating the achievements of 'Three Kingdoms,' also has something to announce to everyone:"

From now on, the ticket price for all movies produced by Shanhe Company will not exceed 30 yuan…

These words seemed to send an invisible ripple through the entire banquet hall, leaving everyone momentarily stunned.

What did I hear?
Movie tickets cost no more than 30 yuan.

All the movies?

For a moment, the guests, reporters, and fans all felt the same way.

Shocking. "They just lowered the price like that? How come I didn't hear anything about it before?"

"Hey, I've never heard of that either... Shanhe Company has always been like this, able to pull off a bunch of big moves without making a sound."

"At 30 yuan a ticket, I feel like the theater owners must be furious."

"No need to feel it, it's already dark."

In a corner, two relatively unknown film actors were secretly gesturing and pointing at several theater owners.

Over the past decade or so, movie ticket prices have increased from a dozen yuan to over forty yuan, with an increase of several yuan every year.

Such a price increase naturally aroused dissatisfaction and complaints from the audience.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the entertainment industry, audience dissatisfaction does not flow to theaters, but instead focuses on the actors themselves.

Admittedly, these actors did benefit from the ticket price increase, but the biggest beneficiaries were naturally the cinemas.

Therefore, the actors have always had opinions about the cinemas.

Why should we be criticized every year, while you guys can make a fortune behind the scenes?
Compared to the way the actors interacted privately, the fans' reactions were much more direct.

The moment the words "30 yuan" were uttered, cheers erupted from several private rooms.

"Holy crap, Director Zhou is awesome!"

"Director Zhou is so domineering! He lowered the price just like that, he's that direct!"

"Is this the fan perk Director Zhou was talking about?!"

"Movie ticket prices should have been lowered a long time ago. Prices have been rising year by year, but the quality of movies hasn't improved significantly. These days, those garbage movies are so expensive that I'd even think 20 yuan is too much, let alone 40!"

The fans' discussions reached Zhou Mo's ears after the celebration banquet.

Zhou Mo ate the leftovers of his meal, feeling extremely happy.

Turning his head to look at Da Tian Tian:
"See? I told you the fans would be thrilled to hear this news."

Da Tian Tian nodded slightly, clearly in a good mood.

Lowering movie ticket prices was an idea Zhou Mo had been planning for three or four years.

Movie ticket prices are a topic that's been discussed countless times.

There are many conflicting opinions on the price of a movie ticket, and there has never been a universally accepted formula for calculating it.

But nowadays, a ticket price of over forty yuan is definitely not cheap.

Zhou Mo knew very well that although the total box office revenue of the film market seemed unaffected by movie ticket prices and increased year after year, this price level was definitely more beneficial than harmful to the market.

Therefore, the plan to lower ticket prices naturally came about.

However, at that time, Shanhe Company neither had cinema resources nor had it been able to lead the entire entertainment industry, so the matter was shelved.

Now, Shanhe Company has fully acquired the qualifications and capabilities to lead the market. Taking advantage of the celebration banquet for "Three Kingdoms", it is only natural that they would propose to lower ticket prices.

"The next question is how other cinemas will react," Da Tiantian thought about what might happen soon.

The assistant guessed, "To stir up trouble within our company, or perhaps to launch a joint boycott?"

Zhou Mo chuckled: "They're dreaming. It's not like ten years ago. Right now, only our company has the ability to release works with a high frequency and stable quality. Unless these theater chains plan to go bankrupt, they can't possibly refuse to cooperate with us."

Besides, they have the support of netizens and viewers. With the audience as their backing, how can they refuse?

Zhou Mo's confident tone quickly calmed Da Tian Tian and her assistant's slightly flustered emotions.

"Then we should just wait for the calls from the heads of each cinema chain, right?"

"Well, the specific details should be released tonight. We can see how netizens react then."

As afternoon approached, when Zhou Mo and Da Tiantian returned to the company, news that "Shanhe Company is going to lower movie ticket prices" had already spread across the internet.

The situation was exactly as Zhou Mo had predicted.

Online comments on Shanhe Company's decision are quite divided. Some accounts targeting "xx media" immediately label it as "disrupting the market," analyzing the negative impact of the price reduction from multiple perspectives, including the market, economy, and society, as if Shanhe Company's move is entirely harmful and without any benefit.

However, not long after this news was published, a large number of netizens started team building in the comment sections of these accounts.

"Wait, I remember you were an account that observed international affairs? When did you start paying attention to the domestic film market?"

"Mind your own business, what does domestic ticket prices have to do with you?"

"Why are you in such a hurry to come up here and get scolded? Is your master putting pressure on you?"

"The public likes low ticket prices, who do you think you are?"

After returning to his office, Zhou Mo began reading netizens' responses online. When he discovered that the vast majority of netizens supported the "ticket price reduction," he was completely relieved.

Not long after, a phone call came in; it was from an acquaintance.

The call connected, and Han Sanping's extremely happy voice came through the receiver.

"You did a great job, Zhou Mo. These theater operators should have been put in a good position a long time ago. Movie tickets are really too expensive now and should have been reduced. You really did a great job this time."

The first half of the sentence was clearly cheerful, but the second half had a hint of gritted teeth.

Zhou Mo chuckled. Old Han was clearly still thinking about how he tried to increase the box office revenue share back then, but was countered by the theaters and ultimately failed.

"Mr. Han, you're too kind. I just happened to be there."

"Hey, don't be modest this time. Everyone in the market knows that excessively high ticket prices will have a negative impact on audience spending, but no one has ever mentioned it before."

In other words, you have the ability and the willingness to maintain the market.

Otherwise, given the people in this market, in my opinion, one day they'll turn the market into something like the Hong Kong market at the end of the last century—completely collapsed.

Zhou Mo was somewhat surprised by Han Sanping's foresight, then joked, "So, Mr. Han, seeing this market situation, didn't you think about doing anything about it?"

Han Sanping said casually, "What to do? Do nothing. I'm not in that position, so I don't concern myself with its affairs. I've been retired for so many years, and I don't care about those messy things anymore. Let the market do what it wants; it's none of my business."

Zhou Mo curled his lip, "It would be strange if you, Comrade Han, didn't concern yourself with politics."

At this moment, Han Sanping spoke up again: "By the way, you've been so busy that you forgot, are you about to go to the set of 'The Great Battle'?"

"Yes, what are your instructions, Mr. Han?"

"I heard from Jia Nu a while ago that you always felt the crew didn't have enough management staff? And you were still looking for manpower just a few days ago?"

Once the topic of manpower shortage came up, Zhou Mo immediately started talking non-stop.

"That's right, Mr. Han. We're really short-handed right now. I thought that if we started preparing more than half a year in advance, we would be well prepared. But the closer we get to filming, the more I realize that we're not prepared enough."

"This doesn't make sense. You have plenty of talented people under your command. You could easily gather enough staff for one, two, or even three film crews. Why aren't you enough this time?"

Zhou Mo explained, "President Han, if it's a regular project, I definitely have enough people on my team. Whether it's action, romance, history, or science fiction, it's all a piece of cake."

But the situation with "The Great Battle" is special. I don't have that many professionals on hand, and I'm likely to show my incompetence once we officially start working on it. That's what I'm worried about right now.

After listening to the whole story, Han Sanping paused for a few seconds before saying, "If that's the case, I do have some people here who worked with me on 'The Grand Ceremony' back then. If you need them, I can give you their contact information."

Zhou Mo's eyes lit up instantly.

The people who can film "The Grand Ceremony".

Putting everything else aside, historical knowledge is always sufficient.

"That's wonderful, Mr. Han, thank you so much! It's a timely help."

"Alright, stop joking around. I'll give you their contact information, so don't treat them unfairly later."

"Don't worry, the treatment I offer here is unparalleled, if not unmatched. In my production team, mistreatment is absolutely impossible."

(End of this chapter)