Extracting skills from movies

“I heard that Du Sheng always makes his own decisions when choosing roles, so this is a perfect match.”

Harvey's words sounded casual, but they actually contained a hidden meaning.

It means that no matter how great a celebrity is, they still need to rely on their Hollywood resources to speak for themselves.

Du Sheng was too lazy to argue with him, and glanced at Ma Yaowei out of the corner of her eye.

Ma Yaowei understood immediately, and took out his phone to wave it:
"I just received an urgent call from the advertisers."

Du Sheng patted Haders' arm and whispered:

"You talk to him first, I'll be out for a bit."

He does enjoy action movies and fantasy films, but enjoying commercial collaborations is a different matter.

Hades understood Du Sheng's meaning and chuckled:
"Harvey, the usual rules, no gimmicks."

Du Sheng's price tag is well-known in the industry.

The salary is 1600 million all-inclusive, or 600 million starting from the beginning plus a share of the profits.

Harvey cursed inwardly, "You've got quite the appetite!"

"How about 600 million, plus a share of the North American box office?"

Haders shrugged and said:

"Your Weinstein films have never been strong at the box office; they rely on film festivals and niche word-of-mouth."

Just the North American box office?

This is so unfair to Du Sheng.

He took a step forward, his tone becoming even harsher:

What we want is offline revenue.

DVDs, television broadcasts, streaming licenses—all of these require points.

Harvey immediately shook his head:

"These conditions are outrageous, let's change them."

Haders remained calm and composed:
"Alright, 1600 million in cash, one price."

Harvey frowned:

"This is a blockbuster film, and the characters are Oscar contenders."

So many people are vying to act in this film; they'd be willing to take it even if their pay were cut in half!

Haders retorted directly:
"Du Sheng has no shortage of roles that could be considered for the Oscars."

He chooses roles based on the project, not on his passion.

They want to use his fame to attract investment and boost box office revenue, but they don't want to pay market price. There's no such thing as a free lunch, is there?

Harvey's brow furrowed even deeper.

Although this collaboration discussion still had a bit of a manipulative element, it wasn't a free lunch.

The big names under his wing basically had to take a 30-40% pay cut when they joined, euphemistically called "dedicating themselves to art."

But Du Sheng wasn't buying it at all.

"This is a big-budget production, with a huge investment and a tight budget..."

Haders laughed:
"What a coincidence, Du Sheng didn't lose a penny of his salary when he filmed that big production with Scorsese."

Upon hearing this, Harvey was completely speechless.

He wanted to use Du Sheng's popularity to enhance the reputation of "Warcraft Battlegrounds" but was unwilling to spend money. Isn't this a typical case of "wanting the horse to run but not wanting it to eat grass"?
Seeing that Georgina was still chatting enthusiastically with Jennifer Connelly, she went back to her own table.

When Daben saw him return, he quickly came over:

"Did the deal break down?"

Harvey took a swig of his drink and sighed:
"Outrageous demands! They're asking for 1600 million right off the bat!"

Ben was taken aback:
"Weinstein has been around for over twenty years, and he's never paid such an outrageous salary before, has he?"

Harvey remained expressionless.

"The first time I've encountered this, they're completely unresponsive."

Cassie chuckled:
"If you set a precedent this time, who will be willing to lower their salary when hiring other big names in the future? The cost will double!"

Harvey was well aware of the consequences.

He stared at the wine glass, remained silent for a long time, and finally uttered a sentence:
"Forget it, let's put this project on hold for now."

Cassie wanted to add a few more words, but Ben stepped on his foot under the table, signaling him to stay silent.

Meanwhile, Du Sheng and Elizabeth were preparing to leave.

Jennifer Connelly came over to see him off, and before leaving, she leaned close to Du Sheng and whispered:
"Are you free tonight? I'm quite interested in Wolverine."

She had always heard Leonardo DiCaprio boast about how amazing Du Sheng was, how she could single-handedly take on a group of Victoria's Secret Angels without even breaking a sweat, and so on.

I was both skeptical and incredibly curious.

Du Sheng glanced at Elizabeth, then smiled and shook his head:

"How about another day?"

Jennifer didn't mince words and said directly:
"Tomorrow at noon, at the Hilton Hotel, let me see what it's like."

Du Sheng nodded without saying anything more.

The two got into Ma Yaowei's Mercedes, and Hades followed. On the way, they briefly reviewed the negotiations that had just taken place.

After hearing this, Elizabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes:
Why doesn't he just let you pay him out of your own pocket and give him some advertising money?

Du Sheng smiled:

"It's not that he didn't want me to do it for free, it's that he knew I wouldn't fall for his trap."

Ma Yaowei interrupted from the front row:

"It's already a favor that you get paid to act!"

Do you remember when you were in Hong Kong?

"Even for a supporting role, I have to pay out of my own pocket to treat the director to dinner!"

Du Sheng listened with amusement, his thoughts drifting back to a few years ago.

Back then, getting a role was a cause for celebration. Competition among actors of the same caliber was fierce, and money was a factor.

But things are different now.

.........

This year's Academy Awards ceremony has come to a close.

Taken received three nominations and ultimately won the Best Foreign Language Film award.

In the Oscars, a stage rife with exclusionary tendencies, such an achievement is nothing short of miraculous.

It's important to understand that this is different from the Hollywood-produced and distributed film, *The Departed*.
This is a purely Chinese-language film.

Li Yixin and Amanda invested $400 million in the film (including sponsorships) and spared no effort in its promotion.

In retrospect, these investments were indeed worthwhile.

From a business perspective, "Taken" winning the Best Foreign Language Film award is undoubtedly the most cost-effective choice.

This honor can not only increase videotape copyright revenue, but also boost the number of views of the film on the Lianzhong platform, thereby increasing advertising revenue.

According to statistics, this year's Academy Awards ceremony attracted 1.4 million viewers worldwide to watch the live broadcast, setting a new record.

The news that Du Sheng won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film quickly became a hot topic of discussion worldwide.
This further enhanced his global profile and solidified his status as an international star.

Prior to this, Du Sheng was known for his scandals, kung fu skills, and wealth.

Although he has achieved success in his acting career, he is still not on par with top Hollywood stars.

After winning another Oscar, more and more people are beginning to realize that Du Sheng is indeed a very talented actor.

Despite the controversies surrounding the Oscars, they remain one of the most influential film awards in the world.

Especially in this day and age, its reputation remains good, unlike what it was questioned a few years later.

Therefore, Du Sheng's award has significant symbolic meaning.

Moreover, Du Sheng's success has also greatly benefited the Oscar organizers.

Awarding Best Foreign Language Film to "Taken" could leverage Du Sheng's international fame to generate significant attention for the Oscars.

After all, he is an Asian actor of Chinese descent, so the topic and public opinion surrounding him are quite explosive.

This also helps achieve the Oscars' goals of "diversity" and "internationalization".

The most direct effect is reflected in the viewership ratings.

In previous years, the Oscars ceremony had a peak global viewership of around 8000 million. This year, that number soared to 1.4 million.

The Asian region contributed a significant portion of the new audience.

This year's Oscars saw record-breaking viewership in China, Japan, South Korea, and throughout East Asia.

Even in the United States, 4200 million people watched the awards ceremony, setting a new viewership record in nearly a decade.

Data shows that Du Sheng's acceptance speech achieved one of the highest viewership ratings, fully demonstrating his immense popularity.

Media outlets from various countries have keenly grasped this point and have focused their reports on Du Sheng.

After the awards ceremony, some attention-seeking media outlets focused their attention on Du Sheng.

YY Portal:
"Breaking history, congratulations to Du Sheng on winning another Oscar!"

City Entertainment News:
"Du Sheng shines at the Oscars, winning Best Foreign Language Film!"

Japan's Fuji Television:
"The King of Asian Pop has once again conquered the arrogant Oscars!"

CBA TV in the United States:
"An Oscar miracle, the King of Kung Fu continues his legend!"

BBC News (UK):

"The Oscars made an exception for Durant, and the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year has been decided!"

South Korea's KBS television station:
"Du Sheng won two Oscars, and his family ancestry turns out to be from South Korea."

In an effort to attract attention, media headlines became increasingly sensational.

"Destroying Hollywood," "Asian Superstar Arrives," "Rewriting Film History," "The King of Miracles Returns to His Godhood"...

They wish they could have engraved the words "Investiture of the Gods" directly onto the screen.

Why is it so exaggerated?

The reason can be summed up in two words: data traffic.

First, Du Sheng has a huge fan base that spans the globe.

Fans love this "my brother is the best" vibe; it's satisfying to watch, even more satisfying to share, and the platform's data skyrockets.

Secondly, such words are inherently inflammatory and easily provoke controversy.

For every person who praises it, there's someone who criticizes it. This back-and-forth generates a huge buzz and keeps it firmly on the trending topics list.

They have the key to controlling traffic perfectly.

As a result, Du Sheng won Best Foreign Language Film, and major media outlets collectively launched a "brainless praise" mode.

The scene was made even more grand than a king's coronation.

Fans went wild, even more excited than during the Lunar New Year, with their WeChat Moments, Weibo, Instagram, and Twitter feeds flooded with posts about it.

Many die-hard fans even organized themselves into a global "victory celebration party".

For example, in Leicester Square, London, a female fan spent a fortune to book a giant screen advertisement for three days, which would play "Congratulations Du Sheng! The pride of Asia!" 24 hours a day.

It's not one of those fleeting ads; it's a genuine, top-of-the-line ad!
Australia, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia...

Fans from all over the country followed suit, some organizing movie screenings and others making support posters.

Some people even printed Du Sheng's photo on light boxes in the local subway station.

These spontaneous celebrations were captured by the media and disseminated a second time, doubling their popularity.

For a time, Du Sheng's name dominated the global trending searches, and her fan base was in an uproar.

in the country, because the awards ceremony took place during the daytime, the media reacted very quickly.

Major media outlets and entertainment accounts all joined in, praising the media to the skies, using language that surpassed even that of foreign media.

"Pride of China", "Breakthrough in the Film Industry", "International Superstar"...

The screen was filled with praise.

In this atmosphere, fans went wild, and their online comments were increasingly outrageous.

"After Jackie Chan, Du Sheng takes over!"

"Oscar has finally realized that arrogance is the original sin!"

"His breathing is art, his every step is epic!"

But amidst this wave of celebration, Xinlang.com suddenly published a report with a headline that cut to the heart:

"$400 million to buy an Oscar?"

Was the PR campaign for "Taken" worthwhile?

The article details the $400 million in public relations expenses that "Taken" spent on its Oscar bid.

Although it didn't accuse the prize of being bought, the tone was full of implications, and anyone with eyes could understand.

Following this, Sohu News followed up:
"The most outrageous PR case in Chinese film history: The actual expenditure of 'Taken' may have exceeded 4000 million yuan!"

NetEase Entertainment is not to be outdone:
"No wonder he's a newly minted Asian tycoon; he's willing to spend any amount of money to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film!"

These platforms have all focused on the word "burning money."
They turned an artistic honor into a media war involving "money transactions."

Why did they do that?
On the surface, it seems like they're just trying to ride the wave of popularity and gain traffic.

The greater the controversy, the more clicks.

But there's a deeper reason behind it.

Most of Du Sheng's exclusive news is now monopolized by YY Portal.

The mastermind behind YY Portal is none other than Du Sheng himself.

Portal websites like Xinlang, Sohu, and NetEase Entertainment are direct competitors of YY Portal.

Why was Liu Yifei so relentlessly attacked on Weibo in Xinlang in her past life?

It's because they chose Sohu Weibo as their spokesperson that they crossed a commercial red line.

Now that Du Sheng has his own fan base and has cut off their resources, how can these companies treat him well?

It's already being polite if they don't go overboard with their criticism.

This report already shows restraint, taking into account the positive tone of the propaganda regarding "national pride."

Actually, it's an open secret in Hollywood that films vying for Oscar attention engage in public relations.

Spending millions or even tens of millions of yuan on judges' roadshows, special screenings, and "Oscar preparation packages" is nothing new.

The 400 million yuan budget for "Taken" is not considered outrageous by industry insiders.

But once vested interests are involved, things change.

As soon as these media outlets stirred things up, the comments section immediately exploded:

"Spending 400 million to buy an award, and you still have the nerve to brag about it?"

The fans were so excited, it was like they'd been saved! It's hilarious!

"With so much money, wouldn't it be better to invest it in scientific research, education, and helping children in mountainous areas?"
They gave it all to the Americans who made a profit, and all they got in return was a tiny, shabby statue. It's utterly pointless!

"Du Sheng is getting more and more arrogant, spending all his time on these superficial things, without making any real contributions."

"The Oscars are just a money-making scheme for the US, and Du Sheng is even eager to give them money. He's a real sycophant!"

"The more others praise him, the more I dislike him; that's called independent thinking!"

Among these comments are paid trolls and ordinary people who genuinely dislike Du Sheng.

But it's more of a "rebellious mentality" at play.

The more popular you become, the more I'll step on you;
The more people praise you, the more I'll say you're no good.

Instead of reasoning, they rely on "going against the mainstream" to flaunt their "clear-headedness" and "taste."

Regardless of right or wrong, the more heated the argument, the louder Du Sheng's name became.

Popularity isn't afraid of controversy, it's only afraid of being ignored.

In this era, being discussed is the greatest power.

As Du Sheng's fame grew, his fan base expanded.

These fans' love for Du Sheng is almost unconditional.

This has also led to some extreme opinions.

This kind of extreme fan behavior can easily make casual observers dislike Du Sheng.

For example, when Chen Shizheng publicly criticized Du Sheng, the reason it caused a huge controversy was not only because Chen Shizheng himself received a lot of attention due to the film's nomination, but mainly because there was a group of people who opposed Du Sheng.

Whenever someone criticizes or makes things difficult for Du Sheng, this group of people will stand up to support him without hesitation, creating a situation of blindly defending him.

Once a major dispute arises, things inevitably spiral out of control.

…(End of this chapter)