Actor: Thank you.

"Ms. Liang, I'm so sorry."

"I know that you and Miss Ying are the most outstanding women I have ever met."

"But I still prioritize my career right now."

"I'll treat you to dinner when we go to Hong Kong or Macau later."

Zhang Yuan put down his phone and stretched.

The day after receiving news of the big argument between the family in Macau, he received a call from Sister Liang.

The other party was very skillful and patient, and did not approach them in an accusatory manner.

Of course, Zhang Yuan wasn't afraid of her attitude towards him.

Because from beginning to end, I was always passive.

I have never actively flirted with anyone in your family.

So I can always make sense no matter where I go.

In addition, every industry is like a different world; no matter how powerful your family is, it won't affect my development in the film and television industry in mainland China.

You can even reach into the capital?

They were already struggling with their own internal strife, so Zhang Yuan was certain they wouldn't make any rash moves.

The other party was polite, and he was polite in return.

This is a tactful way of saying that I won't discuss this with anyone in your family.

I'm the man your family can't have...

He also expressed his willingness to cooperate on some business in the future.

I won't interfere in your family's affairs.

If you beat a human brain until it's turned into a dog's brain, then splatter my blood all over me.

His approach is to keep a respectful distance and only cooperate when necessary.

At my current pace of development, it's uncertain who will need whom in a few years.

He cheerfully directed his assistant to clean the gym.

He would then take out his iPhone and download games from the App Store to play.

These days, mobile games are still in their infancy, a vibrant and untamed scene of wild growth where everything is vying for dominance.

Only during periods of blue ocean opportunity do small companies have a chance.

At the same time, almost all of the world's major manufacturers.

From Nintendo and Ubisoft to Blizzard, none of them were present in the early stages of mobile game development.

Insufficient investment caused them to miss out on this huge market with extremely high future profitability.

This is a common problem in large companies: conservatism, slow response, and arrogance.

Penguins do this very well; they react extremely quickly.

Often, before the original game is even released, its "imitative" version has already appeared. Can you believe how fast that is?

"Brother Zhang Yuan, everything is ready."

"You'll be my sparring partner for the next round."

"Row."

He and his assistant finalized the training plan.

Zhang Yuan plans to undergo short-term intensive training to strengthen his muscle definition.

Because I have to go to work soon.

He took his assistant and bodyguard with him and went out, first taking a plane to Lijiang, Yunnan.

This place has beautiful scenery and is a spiritual sanctuary for countless literary and artistic youths.

Yunnan, the land of colorful clouds, boasts beautiful scenery.

Delicious food, beautiful women, romantic encounters, memories.

It's a great place to unleash your true nature.

He took his assistant for a stroll around Lijiang Old Town, but the crowded places didn't seem to offer much of a different experience.

They quickly lost interest and took a car to a nearby famous scenic spot, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

He was lucky enough to witness the magnificent sight of "Golden Mountain under the Sun".

The snow-capped peaks, illuminated by the sunlight, appeared orange-red with a golden sheen, while the shadowy areas at the foot of the mountain were tinged with a faint blue.

It's as if God splashed dye on this natural scenery, adding a beautiful filter.

The scenery was indeed beautiful and refreshing.

But Zhang Yuan had been to island nations and France, and had seen Mount Fuji and the Alps.

These two mountain ranges are among the world's most famous snowscapes.

The snow cover was particularly thick in both places.

Mount Fuji, in particular, has a very balanced shape, making it a perfect pyramid-shaped mountain range. Coupled with the snow-capped peak, it is truly beautiful.

But the reason it has such a perfect shape is that it is essentially an active volcano, which is like a pimple on the surface of the earth.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a "fold" formed by the compression of tectonic plates, with different shapes at the top, standing side by side.

Each has its own merits, but in terms of grandeur, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is superior.

It resembles a splashed-ink landscape painting.

However, as the car drove near the landscape painting, Zhang Yuan noticed that it seemed to have been discovered by Emperor Qianlong, as it was covered with a circle of seals.

At the foot of the mountain, there are tourist attractions everywhere, most of which are neither Chinese nor Western, and are quite ugly.

Some of the works are by "acquaintances".

"Snow Mountain Art Town..."

Zhang Yuan pursed his lips hard when he saw the large characters on the banner.

This is my older brother Li, Li Yapeng, and the ambitious project he's been working on.

They acquired over 400 mu of land in Shuhe Ancient Town, Lijiang.

It is touted as building "China's first experiential cultural and artistic commercial complex".

They also brought in Kengo Kuma, a famous modern architect from the island nation, to participate in the design. This guy's specialty is to add a lot of lines to the buildings to enhance the visual effect.

They make it sound good, but their ultimate goal is still to speculate on real estate.

More than 130 villas were built, both detached and non-detached.

The total price ranges from 1000 million to 4000 million.

They claim they'll invest 35 billion!
And then... no more.

In an ancient town at the foot of the mountains near Lijiang, a house sells for over 1000 million yuan, and that's the cheapest one.

Chinese people are rich, but they are not stupid.

Moreover, the land that Lao Li approved is not for residential use, but for commercial use, and the property rights are only for 40 years.

Who would be crazy to buy this kind of house?

Linghu Chong could just relax, drink and eat meat, make friends, have fun and chase girls; why bother being the leader of the Huashan Sect?

You're got the business sense.

It probably wasn't 35 billion, but it must have involved investments and loans totaling several small targets.

Fortunately, Lao Wang kept his finances separate after marriage, so the loss was not significant.

Zhang Yuan left this commercial project, which was destined to suffer huge losses, without looking back. Outsiders shouldn't get involved in real estate.

He made a special trip to the south today to meet with the film crew.

The film project "G.I. Joe 2," subtitled "Counterattack," is currently in production.

I had already signed the contract.

These days, they still receive hundreds of thousands of US dollars in copyright revenue from Paramount and Hasbro every year.

So awesome!

The subsequent earnings exceeded the film's salary.

The first installment of the film did not meet Paramount's expectations.

Paramount hopes it will be as successful as Transformers.

However, these two IPs are not on the same level at all. After G.I. Joe left North America, not many people knew about it.

So the first film ultimately made a small profit, and didn't lose money.

Capital is ruthless. If you don't earn enough, you can continue filming, but you have to cut the budget.

So, a few years later, with costs rising sharply in all aspects, the budget was cut by tens of millions of US dollars.

Because of the failure of the previous film, director Stephen Sommers, who had directed the hugely successful "Mummy" series, suddenly became ignored.

Hollywood is that cruel.

Yu, the founder of New Oriental, will give you two more chances. In North America, no matter how great you were before, one failure will ruin everything.

Unless they are so powerful that they have a powerful interest group backing them.

So the director for this episode was changed, and the original team's early sequel designs were overturned.

After the first film was released, many reviews felt that the movie was just a live-action animated film, a copy of the video game.

Therefore, Paramount executives had a sudden inspiration and decided that the second film should also follow a realistic approach.

It may seem like a sudden inspiration from higher-ups after listening to outside opinions, but in reality, it's all about accounting.

Go for realism, increase action and fight scenes, and reduce special effects; that way, the cost will come down!

So the movie went from a sci-fi blockbuster in the first installment to an almost pure action film in the second.

The director has also been changed to Jon M. Chu, a Chinese-American whose ancestral home is Wenzhou, but who is now a yellow-skinned ABC (American-born Chinese) and has never returned to China before.

The guy started out making teen musicals; he directed the two sequels to the hugely popular musical film "Step Up" in North America.

He was originally slated to direct "The Great Gatsby," but Sony sold the rights to Warner Bros., and the project fell through.

Why would someone who makes musicals get a contract to direct an action film with an investment of hundreds of millions?

Besides my own impressive personal abilities, I also have to say, "I have connections!"
And the person above him is none other than Steven Spielberg, a top Hollywood mogul and the leader of the Old Yuz Group. The later blockbuster film "Crazy Rich Asians," which sold extremely well in North America and won numerous awards, was also his work.

Upon seeing this man, whose appearance and demeanor were completely Westernized and who could be easily identified as not being a local, Zhang Yuan gave him a warm hug and greeted him in an American manner.

After saving on special effects costs, the production team increased the cost of location shooting.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is one of them.

The snowy mountain scenery was chosen to film a major scene in the movie, in which Snake Eyes and his junior sister Jinx ambushed and captured Storm Spirit, then engaged in a fierce battle with the ninja army that came to stop them, flying and fighting among the cliffs.

The scene design was decent, quite grand, and met the audience's expectations.

Although games like League of Legends and Overwatch heavily borrow character designs from the original G.I. Joe cartoon, the Jinx in this game has absolutely nothing to do with the Jinx in League of Legends; they just share the same name.

The original design features a female ninja dressed entirely in red.

In the film, he changed to wearing a red and black jumpsuit similar to Deadpool's.

They cast Elodie Yuen, who is of French and Cambodian descent, to play the role; this woman has a very Southeast Asian appearance.

He was dark-skinned and thin, with a masculine appearance.

All he needs to do is change clothes and take a few posters; there are no fight scenes.

All battle scenes will be filmed in Hollywood studios against a green screen.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can take care of each other during training sessions." The girl dressed as a female ninja came up and shook hands with him.

He speaks English with a slightly nasal tone.

“Definitely. I’ve heard you’re a karate expert, and I hope you can teach me,” Zhang Yuan replied in French.

"Oh... your accent is very good." The woman was somewhat surprised.

"It's alright. I've only learned a little French, so you'll have to teach me more."

As they chatted, the stuntman playing Snake Eyes was the same guy from the first movie.

He then spoke quietly to the director.

"Believe it or not, you'll soon find out that our female ninja will climb into her senior brother's bed."

"What?" The director didn't understand.

"Hehe, it seems you don't know our King of Charm of China."

The older brother told the new director about his experience of touring Paris with a row of Victoria's Secret models years ago.

"Such a thing is possible?"

Zhu Haowei just wants to ask one question: Dude, how's your back?
“I’ll bet you $100,” Snake Eyes said confidently.

"Just one week, and the Storm Shadow will be able to conquer Jinx."

The director and he bumped fists, and it was a deal.

Zhang Yuan was unaware that someone was "ruining" his reputation.

He started sculpting his physique specifically for this film, because there are many scenes in the movie where he's shirtless.

Paramount and the production team stated that they wanted him, with his exotic looks, to exude masculinity and attract female viewers.

It's an old Hollywood tradition that everyone, male or female, has to take their clothes off.

He's fine with anything as long as it doesn't leak.

Make money, not shabby.

There wasn't much to do. After a busy day, I treated the film crew to a mushroom feast in the evening as a good host.

The restaurant staff repeatedly emphasized that the mushroom and chicken soup should be cooked for a while longer before eating.

But there are always those who are careless.

The Cambodian-Chinese girl didn't notice that the spoon she was using touched Xiao Wan, who was pretending to be a mushroom.

After finishing his meal and leaving the restaurant, he started to wander off course.

At first, no one noticed, but by the time Zhang Yuan dropped them off at the hotel, this guy was already blowing bubbles as he walked.

Zhang Yuan realized something was wrong and rushed him to the hospital.

This disease is easy to treat; the hospitals here are good at treating it.

After receiving an injection and an IV drip, I recovered within a few hours.

"Thank you so much, I never expected to be poisoned."

"China is really too dangerous," the girl said, covering her pale face.

"It was just an accident, don't overthink it."

"I'll treat you to something different next time."

"No, no, no, for the rest of my time in China, I'll only eat McDonald's." The girl seemed a little flustered.

"Oh right, I forgot to thank you for bringing me to the hospital."

[Received a thank you from Elodie Yuan, +1 to Basic Law, +1 to Basic Karate!]

Zhang Yuan was shocked when he saw it; this girl was skilled in both physical and magical arts.

"Just rest assured, we'll see you later." Zhang Yuan didn't say much more and turned to leave.

When he turned around, he saw Snake Eyes and the director smiling and nodding at him.

What are you going to do...?

These two thought he was a master, so they actually resorted to poisoning him.

High, it is high!

Zhang Yuan didn't care what the two of them were thinking.

He returned to the capital the next day.

I rushed to Wanda Cinema CBD Store, located in the eastern part of Beijing.

Where will the premiere of "No Man's Land" be held?

"My assessment of this film is that good things often come with difficulties."

Zhang Yuan spoke on stage, holding a microphone.

"Although I wasn't directly involved in the filming, I know that Director Ning and the other team members put a lot of effort into the film."

"It was a very difficult movie to make."

"It's also very exciting; I think it's a breakthrough work for director Ning Hao."

This production really took a lot of effort!
Under his intervention, the revisions were highly efficient, and many parts, including the ending, were reshot.

The original ending was that both the male and female protagonists would die.

The story is changed so that the male protagonist "martys" and the female protagonist returns to the city to fulfill her dream of dancing.

Zhang Yuan actually wanted to say that this film is similar in concept to Ang Lee's hit film "Life of Pi" from a few months ago.

How do humans turn into beasts, and how do they return to humanity?

Although the ways of expression are different, the core is similar.

However, he didn't dare say it, for fear of being criticized.

Because the subject matter is so different.

Xu Zheng and Huang Bo were required by him to participate in the entire publicity and promotion process.

Even Bao Qiang was invited by him as a surprise guest.

He negotiated with China Film Group for a long time, asking Lao Han to help pull strings, which finally got the film released ahead of schedule and allowed it to be shown as soon as possible.

His purpose in doing this was simple: to capitalize on the popularity of "Lost in Thailand"!

Because two of the main characters are the same.

"The original team behind 'Lost in Thailand' brings you a wilderness story."

"This time we won't visit Siam, we'll head to the west."

"Note that this is not a comedy!"

They came up with this kind of publicity strategy.

I can rub against myself, that should be fine, right?

He is very confident in the quality of the film itself and is not afraid that the audience will complain and ask for refunds after watching it.

This is just one way to freeload; there are other methods as well.

Display an unofficial title.

"After a three-year ban, he has finally been released."

Make it clear to the audience that this play was not allowed to be seen before.

The more we forbid people from watching, the more they want to watch.

Furthermore, they used various online forums and other platforms to subtly suggest that viewers should hurry up and watch the show, as it might be banned again during its run.

The audience didn't know that once the higher-ups approved it, everything would be fine.

Create a sense of urgency by implementing "limited-time self-service".

Eat quickly, we have to leave soon.

We were broadcasting under immense pressure, and in the blink of an eye, unseen forces would censor it.

Don't ask whose big hand it is; if you ask, I can't say more.

In short, the first step is to lure the audience into the movie theater.

From Zhang Yuan's perspective, "No Man's Land" is actually of higher quality than "Lost in Thailand".

However, quality and box office success are not the same thing; good things don't necessarily sell well.

Ning Hao also expressed his deep feelings at the press conference.

Three years have passed, and Nezha has already been born.

I am so hard...

Fortunately, the final result was not bad.

After spending over 2000 million on online promotion and marketing, the film gained significant exposure.

This work, which Zhang Yuan purchased for 5000 million yuan, has finally reaped the rewards it deserves… (End of Chapter)