Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 610 Care and the Spring Festival Film Season
Although there are no films from the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] to anchor the lineup, the competition in this 2018 Spring Festival film season is not much lower than in previous years.

In fact, because the films from the Galaxy Cinematic Universe had achieved great success during the Spring Festival season in the past, greatly enhancing the importance of the Spring Festival season, many companies and films rushed to release films during the Spring Festival season after learning that there would be no films from the Galaxy Cinematic Universe.

Several of these are among the most famous films.

Like the sequel to the blockbuster movie "Monster Hunt", "Monster Hunt 2".

This film not only retains the original cast but also features the addition of Hong Kong star Tony Leung, demonstrating the film's strong confidence in its performance during the Lunar New Year season.

In addition, there is "The Monkey King 3: Kingdom of Women," directed by Cheang Pou-Soi and starring Aaron Kwok, Feng Shaofeng, and Zhao Liying. It is also based on the "Journey to the West" theme and has attracted a lot of attention.

Perhaps influenced by Wang Hao and the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, science fiction films are no longer as popular with investors in China.

Previously, many film and television companies followed suit and launched some science fiction films. This year's Spring Festival film season includes a science fiction film starring a well-known celebrity, called "Shanghai Fortress".

Yes, influenced by Wang Hao's work, "Shanghai Fortress" was approved and filmed ahead of schedule.

According to information released online, this movie is adapted from the novel of the same name, and is still directed by Teng Huatao, with Lu Han and Shu Qi in the leading roles.

The film tells the story of a future world where an alien dark force suddenly attacks Earth. Jiang Yang and Lin Lan, played by Lu Han and Shu Qi, shoulder the responsibility of saving the Earth in this apocalyptic world, and together with the surviving humans, they engage in a final battle against the alien civilization in Shanghai, China.

Just looking at this synopsis, it seems somewhat interesting, after all, there are aliens involved.

Moreover, the production team also stated in their promotion that "Shanghai Fortress" took 5 years to create. The scriptwriting began in 2013, the concept design began in 2014, and the art director scouted and built sets in 2016. In order to present the "Shanghai battlefield" in the original work, the production team specially built a grand real set of 15500 square meters.

When asked by reporters how "Shanghai Fortress" compares to other domestic science fiction films, producer Wang Chen candidly replied:

Before "Shanghai Fortress", Chinese science fiction films also had the "Galaxy Cinematic Universe".

Before the StarCraft cinematic universe, there wasn't much Chinese science fiction.

The challenges faced by the Galaxy Cinematic Universe are even greater and more difficult than ours; we are standing on the shoulders of giants to continue.

If they say we're good, then we're just praising ourselves.

We didn't aspire to do anything grand; we simply hoped to pass the baton of Chinese science fiction on.

"Let Chinese science fiction truly be passed down from generation to generation."

The production team's humble approach naturally garnered approval from many netizens. Coupled with Lu Han's inherent popularity as an idol star, the pre-sale results for "Shanghai Fortress" on various platforms were quite impressive, no less than those of "Monster Hunt 2" and "Hello Mr. Billionaire".

At least in the eyes of most movie fans and industry insiders, the competition in this Spring Festival film season is sure to be exceptionally fierce.

However, upon hearing this news, Wang Hao almost spat out the tea he had just drunk.

In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly, feeling frustrated by the behavior of his peers in the industry who were overdrawing on the industry's potential.

Thanks to Galaxy Group's years of dedicated development, China's film industry has long since matured, with numerous science fiction works from the Galaxy Cinematic Universe serving as role models.

If the producers and crew of "Shanghai Fortress" really want to make a good film, they can seek help from Xinghe Group if their technical capabilities are insufficient. The cost would certainly not be higher than hiring a Hollywood special effects company.

However, the other party did not contact Xinghe Group, nor did they conduct filming or production at Xinghe Film City, one of the top film and television bases in China.

According to sources within the Xinghe Group industry, they didn't even hire domestic special effects companies; they used overseas teams instead.

If it were an uninformed moviegoer, they would definitely think that "Shanghai Fortress" was a big-budget production.

But Wang Hao, who is familiar with the routines of domestic film production, knows that this so-called overseas team is probably just a cover.

"Hey~"

Wang Hao couldn't help but sigh. Although "Shanghai Fortress" didn't rip him off, the failure of this sci-fi film will inevitably have a huge impact on domestic sci-fi films in the future.

Perhaps Galaxy Pictures' works have a reputation for quality, but what about the science fiction films from other companies?

If only Galaxy Pictures invests in making science fiction films, and other companies dare not invest in making them, can the domestic science fiction film genre still be considered to be developing well?

Unfortunately, the movie had already been filmed, and Wang Hao couldn't stop its release. Furthermore, the way the funds flowed behind "Shanghai Fortress" and the various stakeholders involved were beyond the reach of Wang Hao and Xinghe Group.

Sigh, we can only make things harder for the audience.

Presumably, after being cheated and taken advantage of, their aesthetic sense should also improve to some extent.

With this in mind, Wang Hao quickly put this piece of trash out of his mind and focused more on company affairs.

In 2017, the revenue of various departments of Xinghe Group was not low. As a generous boss, Wang Hao was naturally not stingy when it came to the distribution of year-end bonuses. He had already notified the leaders of various departments, as well as the group's finance and human resources departments, to prepare the year-end bonus plan for the group company this year.

According to the plan reported below, even the lowest-ranking receptionists and cleaners within the company will receive a month's salary as a bonus at the end of the year.

As for other employees, they are 40% more numerous than other workers of the same type and rank outside.

When this news was posted online by some employee of Xinghe Group, it immediately caused a huge uproar among netizens.

"I'm so envious of the employees at Galaxy Group!"

"Wang Hao is not only a good director, but also a good boss!"

"This is true common prosperity!"

……

However, the year-end bonus is just a small appetizer.

Wang Hao glanced at the related news and netizens' comments online, chuckled lightly, and soon his secretary and assistant came to inform him.

"Boss, everyone's here and ready."

"Ok."

Wang Hao nodded and walked out of the office with his assistant. Several heads of the company's human resources department and members of Branch D were already waiting outside.

The group went downstairs, got into a van, followed by two trucks. Their first destination was the nearest Xinghe residential area.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell of a resident in the community was rang, and the door was opened shortly afterward, revealing two slightly weathered faces, around forty or fifty years old.

"Sister Zhao, Mr. Wang from the company has come to see you."

The woman called Sister Zhao had been notified in advance, and upon seeing the newcomer, she immediately broke into a bright smile.

"Oh my, you really are amazing! Mr. Wang, thank you so much!" Her incoherent words and slightly trembling voice were enough to prove how excited Ms. Zhao was.

Wang Hao and the others, who were welcomed into her home, each carried something in their hands.

There's rice produced in cooperation with a farm in Northeast China, milk, cooking oil, and some unassuming but essential daily necessities.

Roughly estimating, these items are worth about four or five hundred yuan. They're not exactly expensive, but as a gift, they're definitely quite good.

"Sister Zhao, how's work lately?"

"How's your life at home?"

"Is there any difficulty?"

After delivering the gifts, Wang Hao and the others naturally didn't leave immediately. They took the opportunity to sit down and inquire about Sister Zhao's family situation.

"so far so good."

"The job is great, there are no difficulties, it's all thanks to your leadership, Mr. Wang."

……

In fact, all the information about Sister Zhao is in the human resources department of Xinghe Group.

She is a canteen employee in the logistics department of Xinghe Group. She has been with the company for four years and is considered a senior employee. She works diligently and has won the canteen's quarterly model worker award several times.

However, her family situation was not ideal. Her husband had suffered a stroke, losing sensation in half of his body and walking with a limp, thus losing his ability to work.

She originally had a son, but because she often worked overtime and stayed up all night at a large factory, she suddenly died a year later, leaving behind her young son.

As for his wife, she remarried not long after her husband's death and stayed in Shanghai.

Nowadays, the family is entirely supported by Sister Zhao working at Xinghe Group. Among the company's employees, she is among the most impoverished, which is why senior leaders such as Wang Hao visited her during the Spring Festival to offer their condolences.

"Really, thank you so much, boss. If it weren't for the company, I don't know how I, an old woman, would manage to support this family..."

As Aunt Zhao spoke, she hugged her young grandson, her voice choked with emotion, and she couldn't help but wipe her eyes.

The little one nestled in his grandmother's arms. He was a bit thin, but his face still had a healthy rosy glow, indicating that he was living a good life.

This also shows that Xinghe Group has always cared about its own employees.

In cases like Ms. Zhao's, once the company learned of the situation, it immediately provided appropriate assistance within the company's regulations.

For example, her children can attend the community kindergarten for free, and the commercial medical insurance her company provides can also benefit her husband.

Furthermore, as a staff member of the logistics canteen, she can eat for free in the company canteen with her employee card, and she can also bring some food back for her husband and grandson.

With these companies providing a safety net, Sister Zhao's family can maintain a decent life even though she's the only one working.

Among the employees of Xinghe Group, there are quite a few who are in similar difficult circumstances as Sister Zhao's family.

After all, it's such a large company with tens of thousands of employees. There will always be some bad things that happen to people, and some family members will experience misfortune.

Xinghe Group has always adhered to the corporate philosophy of "being warm-hearted" towards these employees, and has not abandoned them as a burden. On the contrary, it actively helps them and assumes its own social responsibility.

After bidding farewell to Sister Zhao's family, Wang Hao and his group visited several other families in need at Xinghe Community, as well as some older employees and highly skilled behind-the-scenes technicians.

After they finished exploring this neighborhood, another one awaited them.

Moreover, simply visiting the employees was not enough; the next day, Wang Hao also visited several leaders of relevant cultural departments.

This time, there's no need to bring anyone from the company. As for gifts, considering the sensitivity of their identities, we can't take too many.
I brought some local specialties from the company's private farm, such as kimchi made from pure natural organic vegetables, antibiotic-free eggs, black pork sausages and cured meat, and some items for families with children, plus company-branded toys.

Though they may not be worth much, they represent the sentiment behind them.

Once all this is done, there are only a few days left until the Spring Festival.

Each department in the company began to formulate its own holiday rest plan based on its own circumstances.

Some departments have little work to do during holidays and can take a break for ten or twenty days.

Other departments, such as distribution and advertising, need to keep an eye on the Spring Festival period, and Xinghe Shopping Plaza also needs to be open during the Spring Festival, so these departments need to rotate shifts or work overtime.

Of course, there is overtime pay, and after the holiday, they also have extra annual leave to take in lieu of leave. In any case, Xinghe Group's benefits are excellent, and they will never mistreat their employees.

And so, the employees of Xinghe Group had a happy and prosperous 2018, and the audience in China also had a joyful and hilarious year.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Xinghe Pictures' "Hello Mr. Billionaire" won first place in the Spring Festival film market with its plenty of laughs and touching love story.

With a box office of 340 million yuan on its opening day, the film broke the record for the highest opening day box office for a domestic comedy film, and far surpassed the box office of "Monster Hunt 2" (210 million yuan) and "The Monkey King 3" (140 million yuan).

As for "Shanghai Fortress," which received much attention despite its heavy promotion, its box office revenue barely exceeded 100 million yuan on its opening day, ranking fourth on the box office chart.

This is mainly due to the mobile internet era, which has made information spread faster and faster.

Moreover, with the current popularity of preview screenings as a promotional method, word-of-mouth for the film spreads quickly.

For viewers, the absurd and highly comedic setting of "Hello Mr. Billionaire" brought one hilarious scene after another.

The bursts of laughter that frequently erupted in the theater were proof that everyone was immersed in the joyful atmosphere created by the movie.

Many viewers gave their reviews on Douyin immediately after watching the film.

"Hello Mr. Billionaire is so interesting. Shen Teng's performance is as solid as ever. Every expression and every line is hilarious. His collaboration with Ma Li creates a wonderful chemical reaction."

"Although it's a remake, this unique interpretation of money makes people laugh out loud while also prompting some reflection. The adaptation is indeed very good."

"A movie that is especially suitable for the whole family to watch together during the Spring Festival."

In contrast, viewers' comments on "Monster Hunt 2" were: "Expectations were too high; it's just rehashing old material and using old tropes."

The reviews for "The Monkey King 3: Kingdom of Women" are: "The visual effects are no longer amazing, the characters have basically 'disappeared' (only their forms are seen, not their souls), and the dialogue is stupid and awkward. Love? Maybe in the next life!"

As for "Shanghai Fortress," the audience's evaluation was extremely consistent, summed up in one word.

"rotten!"

(End of this chapter)