Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 750 Who Says You Can't Drink?

These words should be heard by those filmmakers in China who always have ulterior motives and feel that their creative freedom is restricted.

They always feel that if things were truly open, they wouldn't even have food to eat and might be destroyed by Hollywood.

Of course, if it's too well protected, the photos will also be terrible.

"If you say that, aren't you afraid that people around the world will think that the United States is a bad thing, bullying and monopolizing markets everywhere?" Fang Hong said.

"What's there to be afraid of? It's obvious to everyone. This world is all about strength. Anyone who disagrees will be convinced after a B2 plane flies over there."

Donna appeared very confident and added, "Your principal doesn't think you can open up the market just by talking, does he?"

"We still try to win people over with virtue, we're not as domineering as you. We're reasonable, haha," Fang Hong said, then laughed and couldn't continue.

Donna couldn't help but laugh. It was indeed a funny joke. She said, "Let me tell you, no amount of nonsense is as effective as a bomber taking off once."

Liu Tianxian smiled to herself. The two of them were having a good time talking about the movie, but when it came time to set a release date, they somehow changed the subject to international affairs.

Perhaps all men have this kind of hobby. In fact, Fang Hong also has this hobby, but he doesn't like to talk about it.

“You Americans are really bad. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s just set a date!” Fang Hong steered the conversation back on track.

“My suggestion is March 24th, a week after Beauty and the Beast. There’s Fast & Furious 8 in April, so we’ll fill that gap,” Donna said.

"I think it's a bit too late; it's already been pushed back more than a month." Fang Hong thought for a moment.

"Then let's go for March 3rd, and compete with those blockbusters. As long as you're confident," Donna said.

"Let's set it for March 3rd then. It's not a competition. No matter what date we choose, there will be competition. If we were afraid of competition, we wouldn't be where we are today," Fang Hong decided.

“Alright, the principal is still as imposing as ever, so let’s go with that date.” Donna didn’t mince words.

"Logan" is a 3th Century Fox film, while "Beauty and the Beast" is a Disney film.

Facing Fox is easier than facing Disney.

“Hey, March 3rd seems to be the day we first met,” Liu Tianxian said, nudging his arm and tilting her head.

"What a coincidence?" Fang Hong turned his head, looking quite surprised; he had completely forgotten about it.

"Yes, I remember it very clearly." Liu Tianxian nodded.

They first met on March 3, 2010. This man was acting as a substitute director for Wang Lao Er. Wang Lao Er wanted to film a kissing scene and specifically asked this man to come and talk to her, so he left a deep impression on her.

"It seems this is fate, destiny! It couldn't have been released on this day anyway." Donna, who was listening, couldn't help but laugh.

Upon hearing this, Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian exchanged a smile, because Fang Hong had said the same thing before, and Liu Tianxian remembered it.

"Then let's do it on this day. As for the publicity expenses, it'll be 50/50 as usual," Fang Hong said.

"How much do you plan to invest in the publicity?" Donna asked.

"Two hundred million US dollars!" Fang Hong said.

"That's too high!" Donna was somewhat surprised. The production cost was tens of millions of US dollars, and the publicity and distribution costs alone would be 2 million US dollars.

"It's alright. This time we're investing heavily globally. It doesn't matter if we make money or not, as long as we break even. We can earn some royalties," Fang Hong said.

“Alright then, it’s decided then. This movie stars Angelina Jolie, so she needs to arrange public relations in advance and expose the film to the media,” Donna said.

"That's what we came here for."

After Fang Hong and Tang Na reached an agreement, the release date and publicity arrangements were also finalized.

Fang Hong doesn't need to contribute the $2 million for now; Universal will cover it, and they can simply deduct it from the box office revenue later.

If that's not enough, we can add more. Fang Hong can afford to spend several hundred million, after all, Nvidia's market value has now risen to over 60 billion.

Fang Hong bought it for around 70 billion yuan, almost ten times the original price, so he wasn't short of money. This amount wasn't his personal expense, but rather an expense for Yutu.

Next, Liu Tianxian arranged a public relations team to figure out how to promote her and generate buzz for the movie.

It's easy to hype up a movie; you can do it through TV commercials, online commercials, print media commercials, and outdoor advertising, such as bus stops, subways, and buildings.

For example, the giant screen in Times Square, New York, costs $500,000 a month. This is a carousel, shared with other advertisements, lasting about 15 seconds each time, many times a day.

Promotional posters and advertisements for "The Martian" will be displayed at various locations, including the London Eye, the Eiffel Tower, the Brandenburg Gate in Germany, the Piazza della Signoria in Milan, Italy, and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

As long as the film gains widespread exposure and reaches an audience, Douyin and TikTok will also cover the publicity costs.

Douyin now has over 2.5 million daily active users. It has been about five months since it announced 2 million daily active users during the National Day holiday, and the growth is still very strong. Monthly active users are also around 5 million.

As for TikTok, the merger is complete, it has been downloaded over 6 million times globally, and its active users are growing rapidly, but it is still in the early stages of growth.

This rate of growth has already alerted certain forces; problems need to be addressed.

Rapid expansion is never smooth sailing.

Recently, Liu Yifei has been doing some personal exposure, starting with filming a behind-the-scenes documentary about the creation of "The Martian." She talks about how arduous the filming process was, how many difficulties everyone faced, and how much effort they put into completing the project.

Liu Tianxian, speaking in English to the host in the studio, said: "When we were filming in the Gobi Desert, it was still very hot. During the day, we had to endure the scorching sun of over 30 degrees Celsius, and at night, it was freezing cold of over 30 degrees below zero."

"That must be tough, right?" a Black host said.

"The actors don't have it so hard; it's the behind-the-scenes staff who have it the hardest," Liu Tianxian said bluntly.

But what he said was true. They all had people to serve them and assistants, so how could they be tired?

This interview will include clips of behind-the-scenes footage from "The Martian" which will be shared on social media.

Of course, these behind-the-scenes glimpses mainly feature Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, two Hollywood actors, as well as Liu Yifei.

People like Andy Lau and Zhao Xiaodao are not recognized by foreigners and therefore have little effect.

In addition, there was a signing ceremony with "VOGUE" and "GQ" for styling previews and the shooting of some high-definition photos.

It's not about taking off clothes or anything, it's just that kind of pose that makes her look cool and aloof, very assertive. Anyway, she naturally has that kind of temperament, it's just that foreign art is very abstract.

At this moment, Liu Tianxian was waiting for her makeup to be done. She had her hair parted in a 3/7 ratio, and her suit jacket looked like it was draped over her body.

“Sometimes I can’t even tell if you’re a man or a woman,” Fang Hong said, looking at her.

"I can attack or defend, advance or retreat, I have a two-way advantage, I am good at both offense and defense." When Liu Tianxian said this, she was quite proud of herself, and she was looking at her own appearance in the mirror.

Anyway, everyone here is a foreigner, and they wouldn't understand anyway. Even if they did, they wouldn't understand the jokes between the two.

And there's no one here; they're all busy with their preparations and haven't arrived yet.

"Come on, clench your fist slightly," Fang Hong gestured.

"What?" Liu Tianxian loosened her fist.

Fang Hong extended a finger and inserted it into the hole on the side of her clenched fist, moving it back and forth.

"Get out!" Liu Tianxian immediately understood and slapped his hand.

Fang Hong laughed heartily and said, "Aren't you supposed to be able to both attack and defend?"

"I'll deal with you tonight," Liu Tianxian warned sharply.

"Okay, I'll wait."

The two were chatting here when a stylist came over with the mixed makeup.

After saying something in English, Liu Yifei nodded, indicating that she was about to put on makeup.

They wore normal makeup; Fang Hong forbade them to wear squinty eyes or anything like that. The styling was decided in advance.

These looks will appear in print magazines later.

After these photos are taken, the media will control the narrative, and Liu Tianxian will accept exclusive interviews from media outlets such as The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter.

It's about the actors' experiences, their feelings about making this movie, whether it will win an Oscar, and what will happen if it does.

In an exclusive interview, Liu Yifei's styling was much more normal; a suit would suffice. This series of actions aimed to portray her as a role model of "inspirational women."

After all, he's made his way up in Hollywood multiple times, rising from a small-time actor who was constantly criticized to where he is today; there's a story to tell.

These days, Fang Hong and his team have been busy with this, and gradually Liu Tianxian has been exposed in various ways internationally, in newspapers, on television, on the roadside, and on the Internet.

Liu Tianxian's figure began to appear frequently.

Some photos show him facing the media, some show him attending an event, some are still art photos, some are movie posters, some are streaming trailers, and so on.

This has made international netizens familiar with this once-disappeared figure again, after all, Liu Yifei has not appeared in overseas markets for two or three years, and many people have forgotten about her.

"Oh my god, I've seen his movies." A foreign netizen remembered Liu Yifei as soon as he saw her name.

It's still on a small scale right now, since the movie still has some time before its release, so there's no rush. This period is just for warming up the audience.

But this time the publicity campaign is much larger than before; after all, with $2 million, it has to make a splash!

With the Oscars fast approaching, Fang Hong and his friends have an event to attend: a luncheon for the nominees. Attendance is mandatory; not attending will be seen as disrespectful to the Academy!

If this happens, the impression points for winning an award will be reduced.

Fang Hong didn't participate last time because the animated film featured Stone Spear, so there was no need for him to come.

This marks Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian's first real appearance at the Oscars; previously, they were merely joining in the fun and were not the actual main guests.

There are also the bellwether awards ceremonies, which are created by some of the winners of the Directors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and BAFTA Awards. They don't need to go, since they haven't won those awards.

Attending Oscar parties and all sorts of banquets, who says Americans don't toast? Nonsense!
(End of this chapter)