Chinese Entertainment: Starting from 1996

Chapter 552: Evil and Targeted

The sudden release date of "Ex-Files" has caused some waves in this already calm month of May.

Compared with the intensive coverage by some outside media and the heated discussions among netizens, major companies in the industry did not react much.

Firstly, they don’t have any movies released in November, so whether “Ex-Files 2” can replicate the box office miracle of “Love Is Not Blind” or flop, it has little to do with them.

And they feel that the huge success of movies like "Love Is Not Blind" last year was full of coincidences.

It’s not that there weren’t love movies in the past. The last love movie with such an influence as “Love Is Not Blind” was “Titanic” in the 1990s.

Of course, the former cannot be compared with the latter, but we cannot deny the popularity of the former as a love movie. Even since "Hero", there are few domestic films that can compare with "Love Is Not Blind" in terms of influence.

So even though almost all the movies produced by Golden Harvest are big sellers, they don’t think that Golden Harvest will be so lucky to make another love movie that will become a big hit.

Because of Golden Harvest's past performance, they would not question the director of "Ex-Files: The Ex-Files" Tian Yusheng, but they think that it would be a huge success if the box office of "Ex-Files: The Ex-Files" could exceed 100 million yuan.

After all, the box office ceiling of romantic movies is generally low. The reason why "Love Is Not Blind" is called a box office miracle is because it is a rare opportunity.

Of course, they hope that Golden Harvest will flop once. Although the current box office of "Blood Daggers" is not very good, the influence of this movie is too low.

If the movie hadn’t been released, no one would have known about it at all.

So even if "Blades of Sin" flopped, it wouldn't have much of an impact, not to mention that it wasn't a flop, at least it didn't lose money.

However, "Ex-Files" is different. Golden Harvest held a special press conference for the film, which aroused considerable discussion from the outside world. If this film flopped, it would break the unbeatable record created by Golden Harvest.

However, even though they thought so in their hearts, this movie had nothing to do with them, and they didn't dare to do anything small, so everyone just watched coldly.

Compared with other film companies in the industry who turned a blind eye, the Wang brothers and Teng Huatao of Huayi were not calm, and the former even looked a little angry.

"What does Liu Zhou mean? Is he deliberately trying to confront us?" Wang Zhonglei said angrily when he saw the news about "Ex-Files".

It's already May, and knowing that Huayi has a movie released on Double Eleven, they announced that "Ex-Files" will also be released on Double Eleven. This is clearly intentional.

Although Wang Zhongjun was also a little angry, he did not show his joy like his brother:

"Just target him, no matter if he did it on purpose or not, I've already confronted him in November this year, and I don't believe that every movie he chooses will be a big hit!"

After last year's fierce box office battle, and with some of its focus shifting toward the live-action film industry, Huayi invested in and released only three films this year.

In addition to "Waiting for the Wind" directed by Teng Huatao, which they have high hopes for, there is also "Happy Magic" and "Tai Chi" directed by Feng Delun.

In addition, there is also a film called "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" co-produced with Fox Searchlight, but this movie is an art film and its focus is on the North American market, so there is no need to worry too much.

Therefore, Huayi has enough resources to allocate to these three films this year, and there will be no conflicts in their schedules.

He just didn't believe that "Waiting for the Wind", directed by the popular director Teng Huatao and with the full support of Huayi, and known as the sister film of "Love Is Not Blind", would be inferior to a new movie directed by a new director.

Even if he is facing Jiahe this time, Wang Zhongjun is not afraid.

Wang Zhonglei was angry, but he was not stupid, otherwise he would not be able to hold on to his position as vice president of Huayi. He sighed and said:
“Brother, after all, the movie Ex-Files is a movie that Liu Zhou is optimistic about. His vision is well known in the circle, and the Double Eleven schedule was developed by him after all.

Although Teng Huatao is on our side, I think "Ex-Files" is definitely not simple either."

In the past, Wang Zhonglei was very resentful of Liu Zhou. Since Liu Zhou debuted, he had some conflicts with Feng Kuazi. Strictly speaking, he also had conflicts with Huayi.

However, in order to win over Liu Zhou, who had made a big splash since his debut, they did not take any action against him, and at the same time they tried to appease Feng Kuzi, who had just collaborated with Huayi.

But in the end they found that all their goodwill towards Liu Zhou was in vain, as the other party had never thought of cooperating with them.

Liu Zhou rose too quickly, and even with China Film Group as their backing, they did not dare to attack him without authorization.

I wanted to find an opportunity to let him know how powerful Huayi is, but they directly acquired Golden Harvest Group and became a giant in the circle. On the contrary, Huayi was seriously damaged because Wang Jinghua was away all day.

After this, Liu Zhou was on equal footing with them, and it was no longer possible for him to use his power to suppress them.

Moreover, after Liu Zhou acquired Golden Harvest, its development was rapid. Within two years, it had left Huayi behind. Until Golden Harvest went public, it is now about to reach a market value of 100 billion yuan.

At this time, Huayi and Golden Harvest were not comparable at all, and sometimes they had to rely on others for the overseas distribution of their own films.

What's more, Liu Zhou has become the richest man in the country. Whether in terms of influence or status, the Wang brothers are not comparable to him at all, even after Huayi went public.

To be honest, although Wang Zhonglei was unhappy with Liu Zhou, he did admire him very much and was even a little impressed by him.

Because he really witnessed Liu Zhou's success step by step. When Liu Zhou was still a college student, Huayi was already considered a big company in the industry, and with the backing of the Beijing circle, it had huge influence.

But he relied on his talent to carve out a path for himself and left them far behind.

As children of wealthy families, they knew better how difficult it was for people without much family support to break through social classes, not to mention that Liu Zhou had not only broken through social classes, but had achieved a huge leap.

Of course, this is not what Wang Zhonglei admires most. What he admires most is Liu Zhou’s achievements in the film industry.

Not to mention as a director, he can be said to have come from behind. Currently, only Zhang Yimou in China can be compared with him.

He felt that Liu Zhou's most amazing thing was his extremely sharp vision. There were not many secrets in the circle. People outside might not know it, but they knew very well that since Liu Zhou acquired Golden Harvest, most of the blockbuster movies produced by Golden Harvest were arranged by Liu Zhou himself.

Even last year's "Love Is Not Blind" was decided personally by Liu Zhou after reading the script.

Therefore, Liu Zhou's vision is well-known in the circle. No one dares to underestimate any movie he arranges.

Although they couldn't find any reason why "Waiting for the Wind" lost, they were still unsure about "Ex-Files" which Liu Zhou was optimistic about.

However, compared to Wang Zhonglei's worries, Wang Zhongjun was more confident. He waved his hand and said:
"Best-selling movies are not cabbages. How can Liu Zhou always pick them? I don't believe that he has never made a mistake."

Then Wang Zhongjun's heart was moved, and he asked:

"I remember that Zheng Kai, the second male lead in 'Ex-Files', is an artist under Huayi?"

"Yes, he signed with our company together with Chen He, the cousin of poet Chen." "Chen He?"

"Yes, it's the one who played Zeng Xiaoxian in the recently popular TV series Love Apartment."

"Is he close to poet Chen?"

"It seems normal. He has been signed to Huayi for several years, but he has not received any resources from poet Chen."

In this case, he no longer took it to heart. If he had a good relationship with poet Chen, he would certainly pay a little attention to Chen He.

Although poet Chen's divinity has been shattered and his reputation is getting worse and worse, his influence in the circle is still quite large.

His father is a veteran in the film industry with extensive connections. After winning the Palme d'Or, he also accumulated a huge network of contacts.

So even though his reputation in the outside world has deteriorated, he is still a powerful figure in the industry.

Moreover, poet Chen also belongs to the Beijing circle. Although he is on a separate line from them, for his sake, he has to give his cousin some resource support.

But since the relationship is not that good, Wang Zhongjun won't bother with it, and he usually doesn't care about matters related to artists.

"Why was Zheng Kai able to play the second male lead in 'Ex-Files'? The relationship between Golden Harvest and us is not that good." Wang Zhongjun continued to ask.

"I'm not sure about that." Wang Zhonglei shook his head.

Wang Zhongjun then called Liu Tao over. He is Huayi’s deputy general manager and also the director of the artist department.

He is also the successor to Wang Jinghua, and his reputation in the industry is not very good. He and Wang Zhonglei are birds of a feather. However, his abilities are indeed very strong, so he has always been trusted by Wang Zhongjun.

"Mr. Wang, are you looking for me?" Liu Tao knocked on the door and came in. Seeing that the atmosphere in the room seemed a little depressing, he couldn't help but ask carefully.

"Boss Liu, how did Zheng Kai get the role in "Ex-Files"? "

“At the end of last year, Tian Yusheng approached him for a brief discussion, but it was just a verbal agreement and he didn’t get a single cent of investment.

Later at the end of January, he approached Lehua Entertainment, they invested three million, and then wanted to approach us Huayi for investment.

I introduced his project to the company's production department, but the production department probably didn't like it and rejected it.

Then they approached Golden Harvest, and as you know, Golden Harvest invested the remaining 12 million and officially launched the project.

But I don’t know if it was Tian Yusheng’s support, Zheng Kai’s role was not replaced. After all, he had chosen Zheng Kai to play the second male lead in “Ex-Files” early on.”

Wang Zhongjun was slightly stunned when he heard Liu Tao's words.

Why does it feel so familiar?
This is another film that Huayi didn’t want, but was picked up by Golden Harvest. The same happened with the previous “Love Is Not Blind”.

Could it be that "Ex-Files" is also so weird and has another huge box office hit?
Then he shook his head to dispel the thought. If he thought about it carefully, it was not surprising that "Ex-Files" was cancelled.

These big companies receive at least dozens of projects seeking investment every year. After all, they are big companies with lots of money and resources.

Not all projects require his and Wang Zhonglei's involvement. Generally, the production department will screen them once.

Therefore, the production department of each large company is composed of elites in the industry, and their vision is absolutely flawless. Since they feel that "Ex-Files 2" has no investment value, there must be a reason.

And it’s too late to regret now. We can only hope that their vision was correct and "Ex-Files" is really a rubbish project.

But then he thought of Liu Zhou's sharp eyes, and suddenly he felt a little unsure again.

"Okay, I get it. Go ahead and get busy. When you have time, pay more attention to Zheng Kai's situation on the crew."

Liu Tao responded and left Wang Zhongjun's office. He couldn't help but sigh when he went out. Was he asked to find out the news about the movie "Ex-Files"?

At this time, Wang Zhonglei said with some annoyance:

"Brother, I really didn't know that Tian Yusheng actually approached Huayi first, otherwise the project of "Ex-Files" would definitely not have been won by Golden Harvest."

"Okay, don't talk about this meaningless thing." Wang Zhongjun chuckled and said, "The reason why you value "Ex-Files" now is because this movie was favored by Golden Harvest and Liu Zhou.

If this premise is not present, even if the production department approves the project and hands it over to you, you may not necessarily invest in it.

Besides, this is just a low-budget love movie. Dark horses don’t happen often, so don’t worry too much about it. What we need to do now is to go all out to make Teng Huatao’s “Waiting for the Wind” a success.”

"I understand, brother."

In fact, they themselves may not realize that they are in a somewhat strange and twisted state at this moment.

On the one hand, I don’t quite believe that Liu Zhou is so lucky to have picked a hit movie, and on the other hand, I also feel a little sorry for Huayi missing out on that movie called “Ex-Files”.

But the matter is done, and no matter how strange it is, it will only add to the trouble.

Compared to the Wang brothers who were somewhat worried about gains and losses, Teng Huatao, who was far away in Nepal, was extremely depressed at the moment.

When he first heard that "Ex-Files 2" produced by Golden Harvest would be released on this year's Double Eleven and would compete head-on with his new film, he felt a little confused.

He was filming at the time, but after half an hour he immediately realized that his condition was not right, so he asked the crew to rest for a day.

I need to adjust myself, and at the same time give the crew members some relaxation. After all, the work intensity is quite high when filming a movie in a foreign country.

Afterwards, Teng Huatao made several phone calls, wanting to find out more details about the movie "Ex-Files".

As he learned more and more from his friends, he had a more detailed understanding of the film.

But in the end it turned into a voice:
"Ah~"

What he was worried about finally happened. He thought it was already May and the matter should have passed, but now it seems Jiahe is still targeting him.

(End of this chapter)