Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 469: Chicken feathers all over the place

Since December, the propaganda has entered a hand-to-hand combat.

The publicity for "Curse of the Golden Flower", "Painted Skin" and "City of Pain" is overwhelming.

Everyone showed off their talents.

However, "City of Pain" is obviously not on the same level. Yu Dong vowed that he wanted to compete with "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Painted Skin", but in fact, the movie itself has no highlights at all.

The biggest gimmick is that it was created by the original team of "Infernal Affairs".

The slogan of "Painted Skin" is - the first oriental fantasy blockbuster in China.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" is different. Its slogan is quite unique - come and see the big-breasted girls.

Haha, this is certainly not an official slogan, but a promotion spontaneously formed by fans who watched the trailer.

I watched the promotional video, but I didn't remember anything. The only thing I was impressed by was the girl with big breasts.

Now in the minds of the audience, Curse of the Golden Flower = a city full of big-breasted girls.

The mess in the Lunar New Year box office started with Zhang Weiping’s big mouth.

Zhang Weiping once again started talking nonsense, and said in an interview with reporters:
"Crazy Racing"?
What a piece of crap that is.

I saw it, the narrative is totally confusing~
If a movie like this can have a box office of 2.7 million, then our "Curse of the Golden Flower" will definitely break million.

When asked about the competing films "Still Life", "City of Pain" and "Painted Skin", Zhang Weiping also said shamelessly:
"City of Sadness" will die miserably!
What is "The Good Man of Three Gorges"? I have never heard of it.
Painted Skin? Haha, not every director is called Zhang Yimou~
This guy is still as rampant as ever.
I am number one in the world!

Oh no, Laozi and Lao Mouzi are the best in the world!

Zhang Chen said nothing and let the bullet fly for a while.

But Chief Jia lost his patience and jumped out to start a quarrel.

Chief Jia: "No matter how many movies with gold in their names are made, it cannot save Chinese cinema."

"Today's commercial films, which are so popular, worship money, and have made Chinese films lose their ideas. Therefore, we must insist on expressing this view during the Lunar New Year holiday, express our opinions, and pay attention to the real situation of Chinese films."

Media reports:

Jia Zhangke pointed out that a good film should focus on the plight of mankind, seek solutions, and possess a modern spirit of pursuing democracy and freedom. However, Chinese films today are full of entertainment and money worship. Films with very large investments have very backward ideological standards and are still stuck at the level of power worship.

Oh, Zhang Chen was really anxious watching this!
Chief Jia, this is not the way to have a quarrel!

If you can't even quarrel, why are you trying to get together for the Lunar New Year holiday season?

Zhang Weiping was unhappy and dared to talk back?
The next moment he was interviewed, he revealed that there was something fishy about the winning of "Still Life" at the Venice Film Festival, as Mark Mueller, president of the Venice Film Festival, was an investor in "Still Life".

This was considered as stepping on Chief Jia's tail. They claimed that this was malicious slander and would hold Zhang Weiping accountable for the legal responsibility.

Zhang Weiping: "Are you afraid?"

He patted his chest and said, "I will accompany you in the lawsuit."

It's really a mess, with chicken feathers flying everywhere~
The general public likes to watch this the most, not only because there are good movies released, but also because it is fun to watch.

In such a lively scene, Zhang Chen is naturally indispensable.

A reporter specially interviewed Zhang Chen, hoping to provoke a quarrel between the two, but Zhang Chen shook his head and said: "I haven't watched Curse of the Golden Flower yet, so I won't comment on it.

But I can comment on Zhang Weiping. As I said, this is Zhang Yimou's movie and has nothing to do with him.

There was no need for him to jump up and down. Without Zhang Yimou, no one would know who he was.

You still don't admit that he is the man standing behind Zhang Yimou. If he has the guts, why don't he find someone else to cooperate with and see if anyone will pay attention to him?"

Zhang Chen didn't really want to start a war of words, he just wanted to suppress the popularity of Zhang Weiping.

I won't comment on "Curse of the Golden Flower" because, as he said, I haven't seen the finished film yet, so my review would be biased.

The other reason was that he had a plan in mind and needed to ask Zhang Yimou for help, so he didn't want to offend him too much.

But the media didn't know what Zhang Chen was thinking, they just felt unsatisfied~
Xingchen Entertainment and Zhang Chen remain consistent and do not make excessive remarks.

But this is just the surface, there is a lot of backstabbing going on behind the scenes.

For example, the name "Golden Milk" was spread by them~
It fits the characteristics in itself, and with a little guidance, it becomes popular all over the Internet.

As for "City of Pain", I didn't even bother with it. It was no match at all.

A worm shakes a tree without overestimating its own capabilities!
You can't win even with one hand!
At 12 p.m. on December 14, "Curse of the Golden Flower" held a grand premiere in a large studio at the Beijing Film Studio that can accommodate more than 7 people.

The red carpet led the way, with bright red as the main color. There were 4000 pots of chrysanthemums placed on the scene, as well as exquisite and brilliant screens and palace lanterns.

The ushers all look like palace maids, displaying luxury and making the audience feel as if they have returned to an ancient harem.

I have to say that Zhang Weiping is indeed someone who can stir up trouble and has some creative ideas when it comes to creating hype.

He turned last year's "House of Flying Daggers" into a compilation concert, and this year it became a costume show.

The Spring Festival Gala should invite him to be the chief director, maybe he can win back the audience from the south.

The host invited a lot of people: Guo Degang, Wu Zongxian, Cai Kangyong, Aya, Tao Jingying, He Jiong, Shen Xing, Wang Dong, Tu Jingwei, Zeng Baoyi...

More than any actor.

The only leading actors were Liu Huohua and Zhou Jie Lun; the biggest stars Gong Huang and Zhou Runfa were absent, and director Zhang Yimou did not show up either.

I don't know what he was thinking, but anyone can be absent from Zhang Yimou's movies except Zhang Yimou.

But now they are absent.

It feels like a star's fan club, where a bunch of fans gather to celebrate the star's birthday, but the star himself is not there.

A warm welcome to a cold butt!
Zhang Yimou also did the same as a star, connecting via video remotely and showing his face~
what is this?
Consolation prize?
But no matter what, Zhang Yimou is Zhang Yimou~
The premiere started at 0 o'clock and ended at 5 o'clock the next day, 1400 hours, and the box office was million.

It's a miracle!

First weekend box office: 9400 million~
It didn’t surpass the three-day box office of “The Race”, but it was still incredible!
Just three days later, word of mouth suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.
A lot of bad reviews!
Some are teasing:
Why is it called "Curse of the Golden Flower"? It should be called "Golden Milk"~
I think it's more appropriate to call it 'The city is full of big breasts'~
I prefer to call it "a murder caused by a pile of steamed buns"~
The blood above is the same blood that causes nosebleeds?
Upstairs is the correct answer!

Some are really bad reviews:

The plot is exactly the same as "Thunderstorm", so disappointing!

The breasts are so big that I can't take my attention away...

The styling is very exaggerated, and I don't see what the connotation of this movie is~
The thing that impressed me the most was the golden glitter. I felt dizzy after watching the whole movie. The women's clothing was too revealing. Was it just for the sake of attendance?

I just remember that the scenery was beautiful and the waves were rough.

I'd better go back and watch the thunderstorm~
What I can't stand the most is the poster. At first glance, I thought I saw the Golden Saint~
I can't see any highlights, it's just selling stars~
A family ethics drama in the guise of a costume drama. After watching it, I feel that "Hero" is underestimated, and "House of Flying Daggers" is not as bad as everyone says~
This is not the end, the media then broke more explosive information:

Gong Huang did not attend the premiere, claiming that her mother was ill, and was then photographed by Hong Kong media, shopping in Hong Kong on the day of the premiere~
This is very interesting~
Then Chow Yun-fat said that he did not attend the premiere because he was told by the producer that he was not allowed to go.

Disagreement among the main creators?

The audience felt like the melons were rolling towards them.

Section Chief Jia was also not idle. He took the opportunity to accuse "Curse of the Golden Flower" of taking up a large number of screenings and suspected of unfair competition.

When someone interviewed Zhang Chen and asked him what he thought about this matter, Zhang Chen shrugged and said, "I reminded Chief Jia a long time ago, but he didn't listen!
Since you, an art film, have to compete with commercial blockbusters for the Lunar New Year period, don't blame the theaters for not scheduling a screening for you.

The cinemas also need to make a living. If they schedule one more show for you, they will have to schedule one less show for "Curse of the Golden Flower."

What was the attendance rate for Curse of the Golden Flower? And what was the attendance rate for Still Human?
Let’s do the math. If you were a cinema chain, how would you schedule it?”

"So what do you think of Curse of the Golden Flower?"

“I won’t comment on Curse of the Golden Flower, as my competitor’s comments are not fair.

However, I do know some of the reasons why Gong Huang and Zhou Runfa did not attend the premiere. I heard that Gong Huang hated Zhang Weiping very much. When she signed the contract, there was a clause that she and Zhang Weiping must not meet during filming and promotion, otherwise it would be considered a breach of contract by the crew~
It is conceivable how bad Zhang Weiping's popularity is~
As for Chow Yun Fat, it was also because of Zhang Weiping, but both of them had some issues with me, so I won’t comment too much here.”

It doesn’t matter whether Zhang Chen says anything or not, he is just throwing out some ideas.

Sure enough, an insider immediately revealed the dirty tricks between Chow Yun-fat and Zhang Weiping, and then Zhang Weiping began to publicly accuse Chow Yun-fat of being a big shot and not cooperating with the publicity...

This is indeed a bit of a big shot.

When he was filming "Curse of the Golden Flower", he signed a Hollywood contract.

What is a Hollywood contract?
It's all about showing off.

He requested to stay at the expensive BJ International Club during the filming, and they provided him with seven rooms, including a lounge, director's discussion room, dressing room, dining room, etc.

He asked the crew to provide him with a large luxury RV just for him and his wife to use the toilet.

Strict shooting time requirements are imposed, wages are calculated on an hourly basis, and the calculation starts from the moment you leave the hotel.

Zhang Weiping had been unhappy with him for a long time.

The so-called Hollywood standard, is this really how you implement it when filming in Hollywood?
A 5000-dollar-a-day RV is used just for the toilet. What? Are you the only one who wants special treatment?
It’s not like the crew has no toilets. Everyone, including director Zhang Yimou, uses them. Are you the only one who can’t?
There is also the issue of accommodation.

I insisted on staying at the International Club, which is on Chang'an Avenue.

It takes a lot of time to go back and forth every day, and there is always traffic jam on Chang'an Avenue.

The crew tried to persuade him to stay in a hotel closer to the crew with very good conditions, but he just refused to agree.

If this isn’t showing off, what is?
Zhang Weiping had been fed up with it for a long time, and this time he exploded, pointed at Zhou Runfa's nose and cursed him, saying that he had character problems.

Zhou Runfa felt very aggrieved:
I have been filming for decades, and everyone can see what my character is like.

I can get along well with everyone else, but not with you?
In addition, all of my conditions are written in the contract.

If you don't agree, just don't sign.

I signed it, and now you accuse me of being a big shot?
In fact, the conflicts between the two are more than that.

Zhang Weiping insisted on inviting Zhou Jie Lun because of his high popularity, just like when "Three Guns" later invited Xiao Shenyang, it was because of his huge popularity.

Zhou Jie Lun’s joining took away a lot of the scenes that originally belonged to Chow Run Fat. Chow Run Fat was unhappy. He said, “I was agreed to be the male lead, why are you cutting my roles now?”
A fierce conflict broke out between the two sides, and Zhou was even ready to go on strike.

Later, Zhang Yimou stepped in to coordinate and modified Zhou Runfa's role, and the matter was finally settled.

Starting from the second week, Xingchen Entertainment began to use negative comments about "Curse of the Golden Flower" to promote its products.

This was the publicity strategy they had set before.

For a blockbuster like "Curse of the Golden Flower", it is useless to portray it purely in the negative light. We must rely on its word-of-mouth marketing.

Low level~
Erotic~
Zhou Runfa and Zhang Weiping's dog-eat-dog fight
Zhang Weiping was scolded enough, and Zhou Runfa was almost the same.

Zhang Chen had no good feelings towards Zhou Runfa and publicly said: "He is a typical person who looks down on mainlanders but wants to earn their money. He wants both~
Just after coming back from Hollywood, you think you are an international star?
Do you have international sales capabilities?
Don’t tell me about box office appeal. If his role was replaced by Director Chen, would the box office be worse?
The only selling point of Zhang Yimou’s movies is Zhang Yimou~"

He didn't give me any face at all, and just scolded me like that. It's not like I haven't scolded you before~
I hate this kind of pretentiousness the most. After I die, I will donate all the money~
Haha~
You can choose not to donate, but you can't treat us as fools~
He had such a deep prejudice against Zhou because of one thing:

In the original time and space, when Wu Baige was filming "Red Cliff", Chow Yun-fat was also the candidate for Zhou Yu at the beginning.

Then, Fa's wife, Chen Huilin, came over with the contract to discuss. Yes, it was that Hollywood contract, similar to the one in "Curse of the Golden Flower", dozens of pages thick.

Various requirements inside:

What time do you start and end work? You can’t work more than four hours a day, and your remuneration must be paid in full at one time.
The degree of his arrogance and domineering behavior is even more awesome than that of the young handsome guys in later generations.

Wu Baige was speechless.

He thought we were brothers who had been through thick and thin together, but you give me this?

Both of them became popular again thanks to "A Better Tomorrow".

Moreover, when he was venturing into Hollywood, Director Wu introduced resources to Chow Yun-fat, otherwise how could he have made his first movie "The Replacement Killers".

Even though it was a box office failure, that has nothing to do with Director Wu.

We have been through hardships together, and I have helped you. Now I ask you to act, but you show no mercy and only talk about money. Is that okay?
So Zhang Chen doesn't like this person. He can treat Wu Baige like this, and he still dares to say that he is loyal and righteous?

Xingchen Entertainment is using the negative marketing of "Curse of the Golden Flower" as an excuse. Zhang Weiping and Chow Runfa haven't been dealt with yet, but Chief Jia is the first to get restless.

"Still Life" is only scheduled for one show a day, and that's when there's only competition from "Curse of the Golden Flower". In two days, "Painted Skin" and "City of Pain" will also be released. Does it still have a way out?

Chief Jia's defense was broken and he began to promote it vigorously.

"Warm, touching and full of charm."

These are the comments given to "The Good Man of Three Gorges" by some media reporters and film critics who watched the film.

Hong Kong's well-known cultural critic Lin Peili praised "Still Life" as "symbolizing the end of the old era of Chinese films and the birth of a new order."

Lin Peili also criticized Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and others for "forgetting the relationship between creation and life, as well as the moral conscience and social responsibility of artists."

Gu Xiaoming, professor of the History Department of Fudan University, presented Chief Jia with a film review of "The Unknown Fighting Hero" as a token of support.

"Faced with Chinese films that are becoming increasingly gorgeous but also increasingly mediocre, we must have the courage to resist and say no!"

Chief Jia really tried his best, but it was useless.

The screening schedule of "The Good Man of Three Gorges" continues to decrease, and no one is paying attention to this film at all.

Some people have wondered why all the blockbusters this year are costume films, and they are costume films that cater to Western tastes.

A-Mo responded: Today's domestic commercial blockbusters cannot recover their costs by relying solely on the domestic market, so they have to cater to foreign markets. However, foreign markets only recognize costume action films from China.

Then the internet exploded - the trifecta of "House of Flying Daggers", "The Promise" and "The Banquet" has almost ruined Chinese costume films, can we please stop making costume films?
Then someone asked, why didn't Zhang Chen make a science fiction film instead?
Someone else argued that Zhang Chen's "Painted Skin" this year is also a costume film in the strict sense.

Then some people said, three of the four major domestic directors have failed in costume films, will Zhang Chen also fail?
I think it will flop!
I hope it doesn’t pop up!
I don't want to watch costume movies anymore. Who can control this chaos?
When the building had reached several hundred floors, Zhang Chen himself suddenly appeared and replied with his real name.

“I won’t pounce!

"Painted Skin" is a visual feast that we carefully crafted.

We don't pile up big stars, we only use the most suitable actors.

The behind-the-scenes team is all the best, the art director is William Chang, the martial arts director is Yuan Heping, and even the theme song is the popular "Hua Xin" from "Super Girl".

The special effects production is done by Hong Kong's Centaline Digital and China Film Digital Center, which are already the top special effects production companies in the country.

In order to ensure that the special effects are outstanding enough, more than half of the 90 million yuan cost was used for special effects production..."

This brings us back to an old topic:

How to hype a movie?
The routine is fixed.

The first thing to come into play is to praise the actors, asking how good their acting skills are, how noble their artistic ethics are, and what they have sacrificed for this play.
Or gossip, falling in love because of the drama or falling in love with someone else~
If all these don't work, blow the whistle behind the scenes.

Costumes, props, art, music, how awesome are they, how much did they cost, what awesome works have they produced~
If you haven't, then brag about your hard work, dedication, and contribution...

Anyway, just try every possible way to occupy the front page. As long as you want to brag, you can always find a way.

Blowing is also blowing~
Black and red are also red~
Having a topic, even if it's all curses, is better than no one paying attention!
In terms of marketing, Xingchen Entertainment is making progress on several fronts.

First, the netizen of "Painted Skin" came online and attracted a large number of fans.

The game "Painted Skin" was jointly developed by Star Entertainment and Perfect Games. The two companies already had a successful case "Wulin Wai Zhuan".

In addition, there is the cooperation in promotion with Super Girls.

This was the original condition for giving away the song.

The champion, runner-up and third place winners of "Super Girl" have spoken out one after another, calling on fans to support "Painted Skin".

Mango TV immediately followed suit.

They are still counting on Zhang Chen to continue sending them songs.

Although the hope is slim, it is always right to maintain good relationships.

Seeing that "Painted Skin" suddenly gained momentum, Yu Dong became anxious.

He suddenly felt a little regretful that he should not have competed for the Lunar New Year box office.

Both "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Painted Skin" are so strong.

He now only hopes to maintain the situation of the Three Kingdoms contention for hegemony.

But looking at the current situation, "City of Sadness" seems to be falling behind.

……

On the 21st, the premiere of "Painted Skin"!

On the stage, Fan Xiaopang, Zhou Gongzi, Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Jin, and Yang Xiaomi lined up~
The flash lights in the audience kept flashing, and Yang Xiaomi felt that she looked radiant today.

After all, she is the second female lead~
Well, she thinks Fan Xiaopang and Zhou Gongzi are the co-female protagonists~
So, she is the second female lead.

Ah Q spiritual victory method!
People were interviewed:

"The Golden Curse said it could break 300 million, so our Painted Skin should also be at least 300 million~"

"The goal is simple, to become the annual box office champion~"

The premiere is just a show of force~
Grab the layout!

Because "City of Pain" also premiered today~
No matter which side it is, "Painted Skin" has enough cards on its side.

Many big names from the country came.

When the main film was played, there were only two names in the producer column: Han Sanping and Zhang Chen.

Generally, the role of a producer is to tell everyone who is behind the play.

Although China Film’s investment share is not as large as that of Xingchen Entertainment, Han Sanping is a big boss, so his name should be ranked first.

In the past two days, not only Zhang Chen has been trying to suppress "Curse of the Golden Flower", but Zhang Weiping has also been trying to suppress "Painted Skin". Everyone knows that once the other party gains momentum, they will inevitably be affected.

Given Zhang Weiping's personality, he has been trying to discredit "Painted Skin" in front of the media quite a lot in the past two days.

He described "Painted Skin" as the second "The Promise".

Several actors were also criticized by him.

But it still couldn't stop the audience's enthusiasm.

The four words "Produced by Zhang Chen" are now a curse.

Following "The Race", the situation of breaking 100 million in the first week happened again.

Media excited~
Zhang Chen is excited~
Han Sanping was also excited~
It is well worth the unprecedented support given by China Film Group to "Painted Skin".

Among the three blockbusters released during the Lunar New Year holiday, only Painted Skin was invested by China Film Group.

"City of Pain" is a Hong Kong film, purely Hong Kong-funded.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" is a project of New Picture. Zhang Weiping always likes to keep things to himself. He never lets other film and television companies participate in Zhang Yimou's film projects. Only people outside the circle can participate.

After the news of breaking 100 million in three days came out, good word of mouth also appeared.

Zhang Chen's version of "Painted Skin" is very different from the original.

Money is not wasted.

The martial arts have all been redesigned by Mr. Yuan Baye, and the fighting moves are more intense and more powerful.

The special effects are also excellent.

You get what you pay for.

More than half of the funds were spent on special effects. The shapes of the white fox and the bird spirit are both extremely beautiful.

Fan Xiaopang is naturally charming, and the vixen she plays is known as "the most beautiful vixen in history."

At this time, Zhang Weiping and Yu Dong suddenly formed a temporary alliance because their film schedules were greatly squeezed.

Before the release of Painted Skin, Curse of the Golden Flower accounted for 70% of the screenings. After the release of Painted Skin, Painted Skin directly accounted for 50% of the screenings, and Curse of the Golden Flower and City of Sadness shared the remaining half.

This is just an ordinary cinema.

The share of cinema chains related to China Film Group Corporation is as high as 65%, and that of Golden Harvest Cinemas is even higher, reaching 80%.

This shows the benefits of having a cinema.

Golden Harvest Cinemas belongs to Golden Harvest. They can schedule as many films as they want. Even if they schedule "Painted Skin" all day long, no one can say anything.

Otherwise, Zhang Weiping would be anxious. How could he not be anxious?

The screening schedule dropped by more than half in an instant, and the box office is the most intuitive.

In the first few days of the second week, the film still earned more than 1000 million yuan every day, and the box office of "Curse of the Golden Flower" reached 1.5 million yuan. However, as soon as "Painted Skin" was released on Friday, the box office stopped moving.

What was lost was money, how could he not curse?

(End of this chapter)