The literary era since 1979

“Is this Yongsheng?”

Zhu Lin got out of the car and looked at the towering office building in front of him. The light reflected from the glass curtain wall was dazzling.

Li Zhi nodded, then said to Gong Xing and Fang Yan, "The internal preview will be in the screening room on the fifth floor. I'll take you up there."

Fangyan and his group entered the company and took the elevator to the 5th floor. With a "ding" sound, the elevator door opened.

Xiang Huaqiang, Xiang Huasheng and others came out of the screening room, greeting us with smiles and great enthusiasm on their faces.

"Mr. Fang, let me introduce you. This is my wife, Xiang Lan."

"Hello, Madam Xiang."

Fangyan greeted Xiang Lan politely, and then introduced Gong Xing and Zhu Lin to her in return.

Zhu Lin blinked, and then he said, "This is our good friend from the mainland. This time he came to Hong Kong to expand his film and television career."

"Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang's friends are my friends, Mr. Xiang."

Xiang Huasheng glanced at Zhang Min beside him and said, "Amin also grew up in the mainland. It's a good opportunity for you to catch up with each other."

Zhang Min's eyes widened. Judging from Zhu Lin's accent, he didn't sound like a Shanghai native. How could he be from the same hometown as her?
But fortunately, she was smart and knew that Xiang Huasheng, Xiang Huaqiang and others wanted to use Zhu Lin to please Fang Yan and Gong Xing.

After all, Gong Xing is currently the only Cannes Palme d'Or director in the entire Chinese-language film industry, and there is no need to say more about dialect.

"Mr. Fang, please!"

Xiang Huaqiang had a cold face and said little. He raised his hand and made a "come in" gesture.

Fang Yan walked into the screening room. Sitting inside were the middle and senior management of Yongsheng Film Company and the main creative team headed by Ma Rongcheng.

He nodded to Ma Rongcheng from a distance, then sat down in the first row. With a "rustle", the curtains were suddenly pulled up.

The entire screening room was dim, and the screen in front of it quickly began to glow, with the logo of Yongsheng Film Company appearing at the beginning of the film.

The plot of "Chinese Hero" is not much different from its previous life, and the biggest change may be the cast.

At that time, even the Four Heavenly Kings had not yet emerged, so the "Fifth Heavenly King" Ekin Cheng naturally had no chance to become the "Hero of China".

The person who succeeded Ekin Cheng was Jet Li. Apart from Jackie Chan, the only one who could carry the box office of this kind of martial arts film full of fantasy elements was Jet Li.

As for the son of "Hua Yingxiong" played by Nicholas Tse, he was changed to Louis Koo. At this time, he was not the black Koo, but the ordinary White Koo.

I have to say, even when one’s appearance is at its peak, one still has to retreat.

Fangyan smacked his lips and glanced at Gong Xian, Li Zhi and the others. They were all quiet and immersed in it.

Zhu Lin's expressions were the most varied. After all, although she had been in the mainland film industry for many years, this was the first time she had seen a movie with such special effects scenes.

Especially the final showdown between Hua Yingxiong and Wudi, the venue was actually on the Great Wall.

As the sun is about to set, Hua Yingxiong and Wudi stand on the beacon tower, one on the left and one on the right. The warm orange and yellow tones outline their backs. The picture is not only soft in color and solemn, but also combines the grandeur of heroism and the unique aesthetic charm of martial arts movies.

All of this was specially designed by Fangyan. Compared with the battle of the Statue of Liberty in the United States in the previous life, it is far better than the original.

Since he is a "Chinese hero", of course he has to compete with the Japanese samurai in the most representative symbol of the Chinese nation.

The original plan was to fight from sunset to night, and then arrange a scene at the top of the Forbidden City like Ximen Chuxue and Ye Gucheng, but the cost was too high.

"Mr. Fang, the fight scene just now cost almost half of the budget of the entire movie."

Xiang Huasheng couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect Hollywood's movie special effects to be so expensive!"

“You get what you pay for.”

Fangyan smiled and said that compared to the battle of the Statue of Liberty in his previous life, the special effects now are comparable to the level of "Star Wars".

"But if this is the case, the cost will be a bit overrun."

Xiang Huasheng sighed. The entire movie cost more than 300 million US dollars, and this was when the actors’ pay was not high.

"More than 300 million US dollars, which is equivalent to more than 2200 million Hong Kong dollars."

Fangyan smiled. You should know that the total investment in the movies "The Trench" and "Dynasty" produced by Yongsheng to help Jackie Chan break into Hollywood was only one or two million US dollars. In today's Hong Kong film industry, there is almost no Hong Kong film that can compare with this movie in terms of investment.

"Yes, this is the amount after we have tried every possible way to save money."

Xiang Huaqiang and his colleagues did not expect that a special effects martial arts movie would be so expensive, but since filming had already started, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and spend the money.

"In my opinion, why not round it up when promoting it to the public?"

Dialect looks left and right.

"Mr. Fang means that at the press conference, the total investment in the film was announced to be over 2500 million?"

Xiang Huaqiang raised his eyebrows.

"No, it's this number."

Fangyan held up five fingers and said, "Five million US dollars."

"What!?"

Xiang Huaqiang, Xiang Huasheng and others were all shocked. They thought that rounding off "more than 2200 million" to "2500 million" was already exaggerated enough, but they never expected that the rounding in dialect was even more exaggerated, directly from "300 million US dollars" to "500 million US dollars."

This means that the total cost of "Chinese Hero" is as much as 3500 million Hong Kong dollars!
Looking at the entire Hong Kong film industry, or even the entire Chinese-language film industry, it is unprecedented and unique!
Mr. Fang, I think you are not only a great writer, but also a great mathematician!
Just as everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment, Xiang Lan, who was in charge of the film's marketing, seemed to have some realization:
"Is Mr. Fang trying to create explosive news to attract the media and audiences' attention to "Chinese Heroes"? "

"This is just one of the reasons. The key is how can we increase the ticket prices of "Chinese Hero" if we don't promote it this way?"

He said it in a serious tone.

"Doubling the ticket price?"

Xiang Huaqiang was so frightened that he became a wooden man. He couldn't utter a word for a long time, and his two legs were cast there like cast iron.

Fangyan's words were like a bomb dropping in the office, and everyone's face changed color.

"Mr. Fang, raising ticket prices may not necessarily lead to higher box office sales. It may even have the opposite effect."

Xiang Huasheng tried to roll his throat.
Xiang Lan agrees with this. Although she doesn't expect "Chinese Hero" to recover its cost solely from the Hong Kong market, she still hopes to earn more box office revenue. High ticket prices will only drive away audiences, which is not worth the loss. "For ordinary Hong Kong films, this is not allowed, but for a big production like "Chinese Hero", this is the way to go."

Fangyan dared to make such a suggestion, naturally he had given it serious consideration.

However, if you want to truly convince Xiang Huasheng, Xiang Huaqiang and others, you will still have to spend some time talking.

"We should let the audience know from the beginning that there is a difference between a movie with a 40 million investment and a movie with a 4 million investment."

"Once they buy tickets and watch the movie, they will be able to clearly feel the difference. At that time, they will not feel that the doubled ticket price has wasted their money. Instead, they will feel that such a movie should be priced higher than other movies."

"Just like consumer goods are divided into high-end and low-end, movies should also be divided into different levels. We want to use high ticket prices to let the audience know clearly that this movie is different from any previous Hong Kong movies. This is a big-budget movie, the first Hong Kong-style blockbuster in history!"

"A Hong Kong-style blockbuster?!"

Everyone was quite curious when they heard the concept of "blockbuster" from the dialect, because at that time, although there were Hollywood blockbuster movies like "Die Hard", there were not many of them, and they had not yet set off a blockbuster wave around the world.

The dialect succinctly explains the meaning of "blockbuster".

It has huge cost, grand scenes, excellent production and luxurious cast. With these characteristics combined, it can be called a "blockbuster"!
The first Hong Kong blockbuster in the Hong Kong film industry was "Feng Yun, the King of Fighters".

The investment cost was said to be as high as 1500 million US dollars, and the film ended up being a box office hit, symbolizing the beginning of the era of Hong Kong blockbusters.

Now, "Chinese Hero", just like "Storm Warriors" in its previous life, once successful, it will be recorded in the history of Hong Kong film.

It’s not because the plot is so good, but because it pioneered the adaptation of popular comics and made extensive use of computer special effects to create outstanding special effects.

"hiss!"

Gong Xing, Zhu Lin, Zhang Min and others couldn't help but gasp.

Li Zhi's heart was pounding, Fangyan's profile was reflected in her eyes, her eyes were rippling, and her thoughts were flying.

"For every movie, the audience has their own criteria, so we often hear them say that the ticket was worth it after watching a movie, or complain that they wasted so much money. Spending the money for two movies to watch one movie seems to be not worth it on the surface."

"But the value of a movie in the minds of the audience cannot be calculated simply by '1+1'. If the movie can produce a '1+1>2' effect in the minds of the audience, then high ticket prices will not be a reason to stop the audience from entering the theater, but will instead be a disguised form of stimulation."

“Who doesn’t want to consume high-end products as long as they can afford it?”

“Who doesn’t want to go to the cinema and watch a blockbuster movie!”

He spoke in dialect fluently and eloquently.

"If we really promote "Chinese Hero" as Fang Sheng said, it will definitely subvert the entire film industry!"

Xiang Lan was astonished. It was not difficult to imagine that from now on, Hong Kong movies would have a new standard and grade of "blockbuster".

The Yongsheng Film Company, which invested in such a blockbuster film, will also become famous in Hong Kong and even establish its own brand and reputation in Asia.

"This is an opportunity for us at Yongsheng, an opportunity to surpass old brands like Shaw Brothers and Yongsheng!"

Xiang Huasheng's tone was full of excitement.

"But it's also a risk. If 'Chinese Hero' doesn't achieve dazzling results and convince the audience, I'm afraid it will become a joke..."

Xiang Huaqiang was also excited, but he still remained rational.

"Then it depends on whether you dare to gamble?"

The dialect has been explained thoroughly, and now it depends on their own decision.

For a small company like Yongsheng, the "blockbuster" concept of "Chinese Hero" is indeed a good opportunity to stand out.

Although Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Huasheng are not the leaders of Hongxing, they also have the determination and gambling nature of young and dangerous guys, so they decided to go all in!
…………

With three days left before the premiere of "Chinese Hero", Yongsheng specially held a press conference.

Xiang Huaqiang, Xiang Huasheng, Liu Weiqiang, Li Lianjie, Zhang Min, Li Zhi and others gathered together, facing numerous reporters and cameras.

“Did this movie really cost 3500 million Hong Kong dollars?”

"If I answer this question directly, I will definitely be suspected of bragging."

Xiang Huaqiang said seriously: "You can go and watch the movie after it is released. The movie will give you the answer."

After answering a few more questions in succession, Xiang Huasheng cleared his throat and looked serious.

The reporters present all felt that he had something important to say, and they all perked up.

"I have an important news to announce to you all. After discussion, Yongsheng Company has decided that the ticket price for "Chinese Hero" will be twice that of ordinary movies. I hope that the media friends present here can help us spread this news."

When this was said, the whole audience was shocked.
Not only were the reporters stunned, but even the film's creators sitting on the stage were caught off guard by this sudden news.

Xiang Huasheng waited for a while, and seeing that the reporters in the audience had not yet recovered from the shocking news, he joked:
"Does everyone have any questions?"

The audience suddenly went into an uproar, with all the reporters scrambling to ask questions.

Countless mouths were speaking at the same time, and Xiang Huasheng couldn't hear what they were saying at all.

The host took some effort to calm the reporters down. The reporter who got the first chance to ask a question stood up and asked immediately, "Yongsheng Company wants to recoup the film's costs in this way. Aren't they afraid that the audience won't buy it?"

He originally wanted to ask Yongsheng directly whether he was crazy about money, but after all, this was Yongsheng's territory. If he asked such a question, he would definitely be kicked out, or even attacked behind the scenes. After all, Yongsheng was backed by Hongxing.

"In the Hong Kong film industry, I wouldn't say the investment scale of "Chinese Hero" is 'unprecedented,' but it can definitely be called 'unprecedented.'"

"High cost investment, high-tech special effects, high-level production, not all movies can meet these conditions, and such a movie is definitely different from other movies. Yongsheng does not expect to fully recover the cost in the Hong Kong film market, but we hope to set a new standard for advanced movies, that is, what a Hong Kong-style blockbuster with an investment of more than 3000 million yuan looks like!"

"Raising ticket prices is just the first step. This movie dares to charge such a high price. Everyone will know whether it is worthy after watching it!"

Compared with Xiang Huasheng, Xiang Huaqiang, as the older brother, always speaks with a sense of dominance that no one else can do it better than him.

Whether he is just showing off his strength but is actually weak, or is truly confident and contented, the news that Yongsheng has raised its ticket prices is certain.

After Xiang Huaqiang and Xiang Huasheng finished their remarks, they announced that the press conference was over.

However, the reporters in the audience did not want the press conference to end so abruptly, they had more questions to ask.

But no matter what, the news that Yongsheng raised its ticket prices was like a bombshell, causing an uproar in the Hong Kong film industry. (End of this chapter)