Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 594 Da Tian Tian is a hit

2009 was a very peculiar year. Starting from that year, it seemed that domestic films suddenly became successful.

In April, "Fast & Furious 4" was released.

It's supposed to be a famous Hollywood IP, but it still couldn't beat "City of Life and Death".

The Chinese box office for "Fast & Furious 4" was less than 2800 million yuan, while "City of Life and Death" grossed a whopping 1.68 million yuan, seven times that of the former, leaving it far behind.

No wonder Lu Chuan was so arrogant!
Don't be fooled by the fact that movies have grossed over 100 million yuan in the past two years; it's not easy for those who don't know how, but easy for those who do.
For directors under Star Entertainment, breaking 100 million yuan is the passing grade.

Other companies' so-called big-name directors have also broken the 200 million mark.

But for ordinary directors, breaking 100 million is still a pipe dream.

In fact, Lu Chuan kept thinking that if it weren't for Zhang Chen's interference, "Nanjing Nanjing" might have broken 200 million.

Lu Chuan has come to terms with it now. Despite the criticism, the box office results are undeniable.

At least, he's still a director of blockbuster films now.

In May, the Hollywood special effects film "Wolverine" and the mainland Chinese special effects film "The Witch" went head-to-head, with the former being completely outclassed by the latter.

Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, a Hollywood superstar!
Despite various media promotions, it was useless; it was still completely overshadowed by "The Witch."

The influence of "The Witch" is enormous, even sparking a "witch" craze around the world.

DC is considering whether to take advantage of this opportunity to release a 'Catwoman' movie.
A fat man in France is also considering whether to make his own 'witch'?
The box office performance of "Wolverine" was better than that of "Fast & Furious 4", with a gross of at least 5000 million.

But it's still not enough.

How much did The Witch make at the box office?
It exceeded 200 million.

This is Johnnie To's best-performing film to date, and also the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong.

Over the years, Du Dapao's works have generally fetched around 1500 million, with very few exceeding 2000 million Hong Kong dollars.

The Hong Kong box office for "The Witch" was HK$3200 million, the second highest among Johnnie To's works.

The first one is "Justice, My Foot!", which grossed 4988 million, but everyone knows that the box office had nothing to do with it.

Hollywood companies expressed their bewilderment at this reaction.

In recent years, Hollywood movies have been subject to the "100 million curse," which means that Hollywood blockbusters generally stop at 80 or 90 million and rarely exceed 100 million at the box office.

Just like the hugely popular film series "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Harry Potter," the same applies to Marvel movies.

They couldn't understand why films like "Wolverine" and "Fast & Furious" failed in mainland China, nor could they understand why "City of Life and Death" and "The Witch" succeeded.

Since "The Witch," Jing Tian has undoubtedly become a top-tier actress.

Various commercial endorsements came knocking on his door, along with numerous film and television opportunities, and he was overwhelmed with interview requests.

"You've come this far step by step, who is the person you want to thank the most?" the host asked during the program.

"It's Director Zhang Chen." Da Tiantian said without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh? I thought you were going to say it was director Johnnie To~"

Da Tian Tian smiled gently: "Of course, I also thank Director Du, but if you ask who I'm most grateful to, it's definitely Director Zhang Chen~"

"Why? Could you tell us the specific reasons?"

"Because Director Zhang was my mentor, my first film role was as the daughter in 'Taken,' and I was handpicked by Director Zhang..."

After that, Director Zhang gave me a second chance, not only casting me in "Taken 2" but also creating "Crawl" specifically for me..."

The host interrupted, "It seems Zhang Chen isn't the director of 'Crawl'."

"But he's the producer~"

"After the success of 'Crawl,' he gave me the 'Witch' project, which led to who I am today..."

Jing Tian exuded a powerful aura today, but her tone was full of admiration for Zhang Chen.

Seeing this scene on TV, Fan Xiaopang turned it off in annoyance, a sudden surge of frustration welling up inside him.

Why get frustrated?

Fan Xiaopang asked himself.

Don't be fooled by their current popularity; they're actually far less famous than you.

But only she herself knows how similar Da Tiantian's path to adulthood is to hers.

They all latched onto Zhang Chen, and they all started out with monster movies.

She is "The Shallows," and the other is "Crawl."

While "The Witch" wasn't as wildly popular as "Pacific Rim," it was still a hit across Asia.

More importantly, there's Jing Tian's background.

Behind her stands a top-five cinema chain in the country, but what does she have?
Fan Xiaopang became increasingly upset.

Yang Xiaomi was also feeling troubled.

Yang Xiaomi once thought that she and Jing Tian were about equal, as Jing Tian starred in "Taken" and she starred in "Painted Skin" and "Beauty's Rival in Palace".

Jing Tian has a leading role in the movie "Crawl," but she also has "Only You," both of which were tailor-made for her by Director Zhang. She would never admit that Yang Xiaomi is inferior to Jing Tian.

But now that "The Witch" is a huge hit, she has to admit it.

The popularity of "The Witch" is irrational; it just suddenly exploded in popularity.

Just as Yang Xiaomi was racking her brains, wondering whether she should ask Zhang Chen for alms, Zhang Chen called first.

"where?"

"at home."

"Alright, please come to room 8503 of the Hilton Hotel."

"Oh, you've gone back to China?"

"Hmm~"

Zhang Chen hung up the phone without going into details.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Xiaomi started changing her clothes. She breathed on the air to check if she smelled anything, and regardless of whether she smelled anything, she put a piece of chewing gum in her mouth, sprayed a little perfume into the air, and then spun it around inside the air.

She didn't know if Da Tian Tian had learned any idioms from Director Zhang, but she was sure she was the one with the best grades.

On the way, she thought back to the two new idioms she had learned, preparing to show them off to Teacher Zhang later.

Fifteen minutes later, Yang Xiaomi appeared at the door of room 8503 of the Hilton Hotel.
She swore she had never been this proactive in her life.

Ring the doorbell and flash what you think is your most captivating smile.

A moment later, footsteps were heard, and then the door was opened.

However, it wasn't Zhang Chen who opened the door, but his assistant.

"Sister Honey, you're here! Come on in, Director Zhang has been waiting for you for ages!"

Yang Xiaomi was taken aback, instinctively sensing that something was amiss. "Uh...who else?"

"And director Xue Xiaolu too~"

"Teacher Xue?"

Yang Xiaomi reacted immediately.

I was a little disappointed, but my mood quickly improved.

Good news!
Upon entering the room, they indeed saw Zhang Chen and Xue Xiaolu discussing something.

"The success of 'Only You' has proven that there is a market for chick flicks, so I plan to make two more, 'Our Times' and 'Back to 20'..."

Xue Xiaolu: "Are these two films also based on the same book and adapted into two versions?"

Zhang Chen nodded: "Yes."

Why not adapt one book into two films, earn money twice from one script?
Seeing Yang Xiaomi arrive, Zhang Chen waved and said, "You've come at the right time. Come and take a look at this script. If you have no objections, you'll be the female lead..."

Yang Xiaomi nodded obediently and picked up the script to read.
Zhang Chen continued his introduction: "The director is still Teacher Xue. You've already worked together on 'Only You,' so working on something similar like 'Our Times' should go even more smoothly..."

A moment later, Yang Xiaomi had finished reading the script, her eyes shining.

She could tell that it was a good play.

While it may not be as big a hit as "The Witch," it should be a minor hit.

And didn't Zhang Chen say that after "Our Times" there will be another movie called "Back to 20"?

"Thank you for your guidance, Director Zhang!"

If Xue Xiaolu hadn't been there, Yang Xiaomi would have loved to show him right then and there what she had learned in the past two days.

Zhang Chen waved his hand dismissively. He'd mentioned "Our Times" and "Back to 33," but he'd actually also prepared "Love is Not Blind" for her.
As for whether Yang Xiaomi could handle three consecutive dramas, he never considered it.

Are you kidding me?
Yang Xiaoli is a workaholic who does 11 TV series a year, this is nothing compared to her.

"Honey, even though 'Our Times' and 'Only You' are both romance films, if you can differentiate between the two characters, then your acting skills will be top-notch!"

Yang Xiaomi's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Her acting skills have always been a point of criticism, with more than one director saying that her acting is too formulaic.

There's nothing I can do; it's a habit I developed since childhood, and I can't change it even if I wanted to.

……

at the same time
Someone knocked on the door of Wang Changtian's office at Enlight Media.

"Come in~"

After hearing the reply, the person outside pushed the door open and entered.

Wang Changtian was looking at the box office report in his hand at his desk, still marveling at how popular "The Witch" was.

The investment in this film wasn't high, and it wasn't a project that Zhang Chen was personally involved in; he didn't think much of it at the time.

I should have invested some of it. Unfortunately, there's no going back.

"Mr. Wang, Director Guo Fan from Xingchen Entertainment is here!"

Upon hearing his secretary's reminder, Wang Changtian looked up as if waking from a dream, his face quickly breaking into a smile: "Director Guo? What a rare guest, a rare guest indeed!"

Guo Fan followed behind his secretary, looking shy: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wang, for coming without an appointment."

"Not at all, Director Guo, please don't be so polite. I've actually been wanting to visit you for a long time."

After inviting the visitor to the sofa and serving him fragrant tea, Wang Changtian asked, "I wonder what brings Director Guo here this time?"

Guo Fan was sipping his tea when he heard this, so he quickly put it back on the table: "Isn't this my first film, 'Gravity,' about to be released? I've come to talk to President Wang about the publicity..."

Wang Changtian quickly replied politely, "Director Guo, you flatter me. Everyone knows that 'Gravity' is Star Entertainment's flagship project this year, and it's also a major collaboration with Hollywood. With such a great project, Enlight Media will definitely do its utmost to promote it..."

In other words, Wang Changtian was actually patting himself on the back.

Gravity is a $50 million project and a Sino-US co-production with Warner Bros., so the distribution work is simply beyond Enlight Media's reach.

China Film Group and Star Entertainment are fully responsible for the film's distribution in mainland China. The reason they are willing to include Enlight Media is entirely due to their local distribution network.

However, the share it occupies can naturally not be too large.

Guo Fan was also desperate and grasping at straws.

He didn't need to promote the film at all; he was just worried because it was his first film as a director.

The two chatted in the office for a long time, and Wang Changtian even called in Zhang Zhao, the person in charge of the local distribution network.

After a while, Guo Fan left satisfied.

After seeing their guests off, the two returned to Wang Changtian's office.

Zhang Zhao exclaimed, "This Director Zhang from Star Entertainment is truly capable of doing what others cannot. He actually handed over the $5000 million project 'Gravity' to a newcomer who has never had any independent directing experience."

Guo Fan had never independently directed any film before, only serving as assistant director on Pacific Rim and 2012.

But the assistant director, to put it nicely, is a director; to put it bluntly, he's just a handyman.

In fact, Guo Fan didn't even study film.

Zhang Chen actually trusted this guy with the project.
"Train to Busan is another example. No matter how you look at it, this film shouldn't have passed censorship, but it somehow did and even became one of Star Entertainment's key films this year."

Wang Changtian sighed from the side, "Yes, that's why he's a big director. If I were Zhang Chen, I would of course release the safest film during such an important summer season. But Zhang Chen deliberately didn't. He scheduled 'White House Down' for June, giving the best July and August slots to 'Gravity' and 'Train to Busan.' That's the kind of boldness a film mogul should have—giving newcomers a chance to shine and constantly enriching the variety of Chinese films. This guy is really working for Chinese cinema. If he were only thinking about himself, he wouldn't have to go through all this trouble..."

"I heard that he has also been funding film productions for teachers at the Beijing Film Academy."

"Yes, several teachers associated with him have had their works published."

"Mr. Wang, do you think we could try cooperating with these people? As far as I know, none of the films Zhang Chen sponsored for their teacher have lost money..."

Upon hearing Zhang Zhao's words, Wang Changtian's eyes lit up.

He and Zhang Chen had known each other since they were both struggling, and with the advantages of the ground network model, Guangmang was able to participate in many of Xingchen Entertainment's projects.

Although the share was very small, I did participate.

However, in recent years, Star Entertainment has been partnering with Hollywood, with costs often reaching tens of millions of dollars, and Enlight Media has increasingly felt that it is falling behind.

Zhang Zhao's suggestion is a good investment direction.

Enlight Media also needs its own contracted directors, but most of the good directors in the industry are already taken.

He wasn't very optimistic about these teachers at the Beijing Film Academy.

Teachers, of course, are more knowledgeable in theory than in practice.

If they were truly that good, who would still be a teacher? They'd all be in business by now!
But Zhang Chen and a few other teachers are exceptions.

So far, it seems there hasn't been any failures, and there's a great deal of freedom involved.

You should definitely give it a try!
(End of this chapter)