Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 582 It's great to have Weibo

The interview lasted for more than an hour, and Chai Jing originally wanted to ask some other questions, but she didn't have time to.

The entire interview revolved almost entirely around movies, so much so that the promotional tagline for this episode was—"In-depth analysis of Zhang Chen's inner cinematic world."

After Zhang Chen and his group left, the director began to worry.

How do I cut this?
It seems like a lot of the materials are unusable.

The film festival section was retained, but only the criticisms about the Oscars' PR tactics and the three major European film festivals were kept.

Zhang Chen was a little annoyed. If he had known you would do this, he wouldn't have gone. You made me waste half a day talking.

Even so, the remaining content still excited netizens.

The quote about why the United States is not a great country has gone viral.

What is America's international image now?
That is the beacon of freedom and democracy.

This is the first time someone has used data to interpret the United States.

Turns out, America isn't good at everything either.
Before this, the United States was synonymous with advancement, and many people blindly worshipped it.

Around 2000, even having 24-hour hot water in the United States was something to boast about.

I later found out that the hot water they were referring to was bath water.

Zhang Chen's words are tantamount to laying bare the truth about America, showing it to you that it's nothing special.
The second point of focus is a characteristic of Chinese people: they always want to compare everything with the best.

Upon closer reflection, it truly resonates with everyone.

Movies are compared to Hollywood, precision manufacturing to Germany, and electronics to Japan—it seems that's really the case!
This sparked a heated online debate: even the US isn't number one in everything, so why should we strive to be number one in everything?
In the end, Zhang Chen gave the standard answer on Weibo—because we were number one in the world before 1840, and our backwardness only occurred in the last hundred years, which is why it is called a century of humiliation.

Yes, yes, yes~
My parents gave me life, but Zhang Chen truly understands me.
Netizens felt a surge of comfort from the depths of their souls, as if their entire being had been elevated.

We are the true Celestial Empire!
Of course, there will definitely be dissenting opinions.

There are many trolls online who specifically target Zhang Chen, and his remarks have always been too aggressive, offending many people.

"After watching the interview with Zhang Chen on 'Face to Face,' I felt like he was talking nonsense. The three major European cinemas have a circle culture, and the Oscars can be won through public relations—it's all made to sound so simple. If it's that easy, why haven't I seen you bring back a prize from one of the three majors or an Oscar…"

"Right, right, Zhang Chen seems to have forgotten that the internet remembers everything. Looking back at old news, Zhang Chen has attended quite a few of the three major European film festivals; you can still find news about his interview in Venice online..."

"This person's gotten arrogant, assessment complete~"

These people gathered under Zhang Chen's Weibo post and left all sorts of sarcastic comments.

Zhang Chen would read these messages whenever he had free time, and he didn't mind them.

It's normal for celebrities to be criticized.

He even tagged the other party specifically: "Please make sure you read the news carefully. I did go to the Venice Film Festival, but not to compete; I went to sell films."

After thinking about it, I realized that many people probably don't understand the ins and outs of this, so I simply wrote on Weibo: "Film festivals are divided into Category A and Category B. There are a total of 15 Category A film festivals in the world, including the three major European film festivals and our Shanghai International Film Festival."

Many people confuse film festivals with the Oscars, but they are actually different categories. The Oscars are not a film festival.

Most film festivals have competition sections and screening sections.

The competition usually accepts submissions from around the world without geographical restrictions, and the main awards are selected by an international jury.

The screening section is for the sale of films, or, in more sophisticated terms, to promote international film exchange.

Simply put, a film festival is like a flea market for the commodity of film.

The greatest significance of film festivals lies in the fact that buyers and sellers can quickly complete transactions.

Besides the honors, the biggest benefit of the competition section is that films can fetch high prices.

The price is completely different between those who are nominated and those who are not. If you happen to win an award, you can sell it for a good price.

This is why those obscure and difficult-to-understand art films are so eager to enter the competition. These kinds of films are not easy to sell, and if they can win an award, it's equivalent to gaining fame, and the price will naturally rise.

The logic here is actually the same as that for commercial films.

In Hollywood, whether you're an actor or a director, your market value only increases if the films you're involved in are box office hits.

If the film projects you're involved in consistently become huge hits, you could potentially earn one of the highest levels of salary in Hollywood.

The same applies to art films.

If the art film you're involved in wins an award, you'll gain fame.

Fame is money.

The prices of well-known art films and those of unknown art films are different.

I've said too much~
Let's talk about the Oscars. The Oscars are not a film festival; they are actually just a selection event for film awards.

The Oscars, initiated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, aim to recognize outstanding works and professionals in various fields of filmmaking each year, such as Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.

It focuses on recognizing individual or comprehensive achievements in film art and technology, without competitive screening sessions, and does not possess the core characteristic of a film festival that integrates screening, exchange, and competition.

It is a union award, and the best film is decided by a vote of all 6000+ union members.

Other awards, such as the Actors Guild Awards, are selected by the Screen Actors Guild, and the Directors Guild Awards are selected by the Directors Guild...

It doesn't have a screening section; it's just an awards ceremony, like our domestic Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards.

Click the send button to post this Weibo message.

It's great to have Weibo. In the past, there would have been no way to explain something like this.

It's a minor matter; there's no need to hold a press conference.

But if you don't explain, it's as if you're really saying one thing and doing another.

Now everything's settled, just one Weibo post!
I had just posted on Weibo when I received a call from Han Sanping: "Are you in China right now?"

"Yes, it's in the capital, but I have to leave soon."

"Where?"

"In Hengdian, filming for 'Operation Ring 2' isn't finished yet~"

"Stay a day later and help me with a few cameo scenes..."

"?"

"I've told you about 'The Founding of a Republic' before."

"Oh~"

Following Zhang Chen's advice, Han Sanping produced a film with an all-star cast, titled "The Founding of a Republic".

Zhang Chen's cameo role is as a reporter, lasting less than a minute in total, which is more than enough time to fill a day.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Chen could only sigh helplessly.

That's how life is; there are always favors and reciprocities. You help me, I help you.

Stephen Chow doesn't need to consider these things.

Just kidding!
Zhang Chen naturally had to participate in such a project.

People might not remember who participated in this kind of project, but they will definitely remember who didn't participate.

Previously, he had no opportunity to make a cameo appearance because the filming schedules of "The Founding of a Republic" and "Pacific Rim 2" almost overlapped.

Now that Zhang Chen is in Beijing, let's take a day to go to the August 1st Film and Television Base and get everything sorted out.
The next day, Zhang Chen went to the August 1st Film and Television Base.

It took two hours to get there, and the acting lasted only ten minutes.

One take!
The role is really too simple; it'll probably only get a two- or three-second shot at the end.

After filming, he went straight to the airport and finally returned to Hengdian.

"Senior brother, if you don't come back soon, I'm wrapping up filming!"

"Some things got delayed~" Lu Yang was also a bit speechless. It was agreed that he would temporarily cover for a few days, but then it turned into more than ten days.

Motion capture technology sounds impressive, but in practice it's not that complicated.

The only difference from other film shoots is that there is a screen next to his monitor, on which a virtual character image is pieced together by software based on sensor signals.

As the actors moved, the virtual primordial world on the screen also made similar movements.

It was rough, but it was enough to help the director confirm the footage, just like the cutscenes before filming "2012," which played a supporting role.

"Hmm, you've taken this many photos in the last two days?"

Zhang Chen glanced at the shooting schedule, which showed that there was only one scene left to film tomorrow.

"Yes, why don't you take a look at the footage from the last two days? Just in case there's anything unsuitable."

In the past two days, Lu Yang has tried to slow down the pace as much as possible, otherwise the filming might have already wrapped up.

The official director should be the one to finish filming. What's the point of having a substitute director finish filming?

Fortunately, my senior brother arrived in time.

"Okay, let's watch it together tonight~"

Zhang Chen was also quite anxious. He had to finish filming "Pacific Rim 2" as soon as possible because "White House Down" was about to be released and the related publicity work had already started, so he wouldn't have time then.

Fortunately, during the evening inspection, it was found that there were no problems with the photos Lu Yang had taken.

The next day, Zhang Chen symbolically finished filming the last shot and then announced that filming for "Pacific Rim 2" had wrapped.

……

Sina Headquarters
Cao Guowei stood by the glass curtain wall of his huge office, looking down at the bustling traffic below.

There was a knock on the door behind me. "Mr. Cao, I've put the Weibo report on your desk."

After the secretary left, Cao Guowei picked up the report and flipped through it, feeling very pleased with himself.

Weibo is no longer the only product on the market; competitors have emerged.

People in the internet industry have a keen sense of trends; product managers have been studying Weibo since the moment it was launched.

Then, during the 2008 Lunar New Year film season, Weibo demonstrated its amazing power.

It not only helps promote the film, but also sees a rapid increase in the number of registered users.

Reaching 100 million users in 7 days, 1000 million in just one month, and 2000 million registered users in two and a half months—it's simply a miracle…

With such a powerful traffic source, how could other companies let it go? They all launched their own Weibo projects.

Sohu launched Sohu Weibo, NetEase launched NetEase Weibo, Tencent launched Tencent Weibo...

In an instant, a major battle erupted on the internet, with everyone fighting tooth and nail for users.

The scene of the eighteen warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo is recreated~
Sina Weibo's monopoly is like Dong Zhuo's.

The other three were various armies that came to the aid of the emperor.

But Dong Zhuo had Lü Bu, and Zhang Chen's mouth was the most powerful weapon.

There's a line in the movie "Big Shot's Funeral": "Websites have to spend money. Hire a few shills with high salaries. Find a few cultural celebrities as targets. Whoever becomes popular, destroy them. What do websites rely on? Click-through rates! Once the click-through rate goes up, other websites will follow."

This is really how internet advertising works these days.

Zhang Chen's online feud made these companies realize that to promote their Weibo accounts, they either need to use suggestive content or engage in derogatory comparisons.
But they don't have anyone like Zhang Chen in their possession.

All three companies offered prices to lure Zhang Chen over, with Tencent offering the most, asking for a high price of ten million.

As long as Zhang Chen guarantees exclusive updates on Tencent Weibo, the ten million yuan will be his.

To be honest, I'm really tempted.

This money is too easy to earn.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make money from it.

They could only politely decline, citing the fact that they had already signed an exclusive agreement.

The other companies weren't idle either. If they couldn't poach Lü Bu, they'd try to poach Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, or at least Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Many celebrities have already signed exclusive agreements with Sina, so the other three companies can only try to sign those who were overlooked.

But the fact that they were overlooked in the first place suggests that the other party is not an important person.

Moreover, the platform is really important.

Most celebrities are on Sina Weibo, so users also like to stay on Sina Weibo because that's where they can find the latest gossip.

If you use other platforms, the gossip you get will be second-hand or third-hand, so what's the point?
Cao Guowei was smug and once again understood why Zhang Chen had been so fearless back then.

Because the product itself isn't important; whether a Weibo post goes viral depends entirely on the topic.

Whoever can create buzz can become famous, and Zhang Chen is undoubtedly the best at creating buzz.

There is a 721 rule in the internet industry.

It's actually the same principle as the winner-takes-all mentality in the film market.

The most powerful dominant player holds 60 to 70% of the market share and sets the rules of the game in this field.

The remaining two or three competitors will split the remaining 30%.

Sina Weibo is undoubtedly the 7 in the 721 rule, and also the winner in the winner-takes-all scenario.

The other companies found it very difficult to promote their products.

For internet products, indulging in sexual content is a very useful tactic.

Look at those forums; strictly speaking, they all touch on the subject.

Many forums even have dedicated sections for erotic culture. The reason is simple: these sections can generate a considerable number of clicks, and these clicks are precisely the standard by which the internet judges people.

Unfortunately, this tactic doesn't work on Weibo.

The interaction frequency is too high; if they get into something suggestive, they might get reported.

……

Star Entertainment
Zhang Chen didn't even attend the wrap party before urgently flying back to Beijing.

After settling things here, he still had to fly to Los Angeles, as Warner Bros. had been urging him several times already.

"The building advertisements and bus stop advertisements have been purchased and will be installed in the next couple of days..."

"The film's release in China is two days later than in North America, which is perfect since it won't interfere with the premiere!"

"We've already discussed it with the theater representatives. I can't guarantee anything else, but we'll get at least 8% of the screenings on the first day!"

They were all very familiar with their work, and all tasks were arranged in an orderly manner.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, the meeting is adjourned."

As the group left one after another, Chen Xiaowei remained calm and composed.

"Why, do you still have something to do?"

"Director Zhang, I'd like to expand Maoyan's business!"

What business areas are you expanding into?

"I want to do group buying."

(End of this chapter)