Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 678 The Coming National Day Holiday
As a variety show heavily promoted by Starry Sky Video Network this year, "Sisters Who Make Waves" was officially launched in June 2020 and became an instant hit, dominating Weibo's trending topics every week it aired.

Unlike the currently popular youth idol talent shows, "Sisters Who Make Waves Season 1" focuses on female artists born before 1990.

Ning Jing, Zhang Yuqi, Huang Shengyi, Annie Yi, Wan Qian, Meng Jia, Li Sidani, Yu Kewei, Huang Ling, Bai Bing...

These women include singers and actresses, some currently popular and others already marginalized in the industry, some from mainland China and others from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Through shared living and stage performances, these 30 selected women present the dream-chasing journeys, real-life dilemmas, and balancing choices of different contemporary women, allowing the audience to reflect on their own choices and dreams, find the best way to realize their own dreams, and discover the best choice to realize their own value.

It can be said that the 30 sisters in "Sisters Who Make Waves" fully demonstrate the show's proposition of "born young".

Viewers see the sisters' true selves through the show and understand their attitudes towards marriage and career. This allows viewers, regardless of their stage in life, to bravely embark on their journeys like the sisters, pursuing their dreams and realizing their value with confidence, positivity, and hard work.

It is precisely because of this positive impact that the show has caught the audience's attention and stood out from the crowd of young idol talent shows. It has also helped the older female contestants to make a successful comeback and gain considerable fame and popularity.

Other platforms are naturally extremely envious of this, and it is said that some investors are already preparing to create similar variety shows to "Sisters Who Make Waves".

Unfortunately, the benefits of variety shows like "Sisters Who Make Waves" have already been largely captured, and it's uncertain whether new shows can continue its success.

This is actually a persistent problem in the entertainment industry today: the lifespan of any entertainment product, whether it's a variety show, a movie, a TV series, or a celebrity idol, is getting shorter and shorter.

Despite the fact that Galaxy Group's "Galaxy Cinematic Universe" has been a hit for over a decade, it is the only content product in China with such longevity. It has even become a cultural phenomenon rather than just an entertainment product.

Aside from the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, practitioners in China's entertainment and cultural industries, and even the world's cultural industries, have already noticed that public attention is becoming increasingly short-lived, fragmented, and superficial.

For example, in Hollywood, TV series that used to run for ten or even dozens of seasons are becoming increasingly rare.

Most movies and TV series only have one or two sequels before they end.

The "cinematic universe," which used to be a hot topic, is now rarely mentioned by industry insiders except for a few major companies.

What everyone is most enthusiastic about now is creating a single blockbuster product and capturing all the traffic at once.

In fact, this phenomenon is inextricably linked to the rise of the mobile internet.

The emergence and spread of short video entertainment, such as TikTok, has exacerbated this situation.

It can be said that young audiences are becoming increasingly impatient with short-lived entertainment stimulation. A plethora of entertainment options are also diverting their attention, fragmenting their focus, and raising their threshold for entertainment, resulting in a shortened lifespan for many works.

This is something that even the most renowned cinematic universes, such as the StarCraft and Marvel Cinematic Universe, cannot avoid.

For example, after Avengers: Endgame, it was clear that people were very dissatisfied with the subsequent works of the Marvel series, and some people also started to quit the series.

As for the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, Wang Hao and the company's creators were even smarter. Knowing the general trend, they chose to proactively end some series within the cinematic universe before starting new ones.

For example, "Wolf Warrior", "Taken", "Now You See Me", "The Witch", "Detective Chinatown", and so on.

Galaxy Pictures does not intend to overdraw the potential of individual projects, and actively recruits new people and new works to expand the boundaries of this cinematic universe. This is probably why the Galaxy Cinematic Universe is still so vibrant 15 years after its debut.

At least Marvel must be quite envious, since with the departure of Iron Man and Captain America, the vitality and appeal of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe have arguably declined significantly.

So despite the Marvel Cinematic Universe's global popularity, it is actually on a downward trend.

According to its official announcements and future plans, only Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Thor, and Guardians of the Galaxy series are worth watching. Others, such as Black Captain America, Black Panther, She-Hulk, and Ms. Marvel, are meaningful simply because they exist.

Meanwhile, the third phase of the [Galaxy Cinematic Universe] is only one-third complete.

后续光是已经拍摄好或是正在制作中的就有《狂暴巨兽2》、《面壁者2》和《游戏时代1》，进入立项阶段的有《饥饿游戏1》、《豹人》、《失控玩家》、《游戏时代2》、《三体2：黑暗森林》，暂时只存在于计划中的更是还有《带上她的眼睛》、《中国太阳》、《头号玩家》、《刹车时代》、《移山》、《流浪地球》、《全球风暴》、《深空旅客》等等。

It can only be said that the potential of the Galaxy Cinematic Universe is visible, which is why, in the special period of 2020, when the stocks of other film and television companies were falling, only Galaxy Pictures' stock remained stable and improved.

The stock market is all about expectations. In the minds of most investors, the young Wang Hao can at least use his clearer mind and more energy to lead Xinghe Pictures to continue to develop better.

As expected, Xinghe Group soon announced that Wang Hao's new film "Game Era 1: Breaking the Secret" was officially scheduled for release during the National Day holiday.

Upon hearing this news, countless fans of his films and those of the StarCraft cinematic universe rejoiced, expressing their immense anticipation for the film.

Even the cinemas and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television were very satisfied and happy, because Wang Hao's work was willing to participate in this National Day film season, which undoubtedly meant that it would inject a strong boost into the sluggish domestic film market.

The only ones who might be unhappy about this are the movies that were originally scheduled for release during the National Day holiday.

According to publicly available information, this year's National Day film season was actually quite lively.

First is the tribute film "My People, My Homeland," a sister film to the earlier "My People, My Country."

Also composed of several different short stories, "My People, My Homeland" is executive produced by Zhang Yimou, directed by Ning Hao, planned by Zhang Yibai, and stars Ge You, Huang Bo, Fan Wei, Deng Chao, Shen Teng and others.

The film comprises five story segments directed by Ning Hao, Xu Zheng, Chen Sicheng, Yan Fei and Peng Damo, and Deng Chao and Yu Baimei, respectively.

Through these five story segments, "My People, My Homeland" tells hometown stories from five major regions of China, showcasing the country's recent achievements in poverty alleviation and presenting the joyful stories and deep emotions of Chinese people towards their homeland. That's what a patriotic film is all about.

In addition, five new films, including "Jiang Ziya", "Coffee or Tea", and "Endgame", along with "Boonie Bears: Wild Land" and "The Rescue", which were withdrawn from the Spring Festival release, will all be released during this National Day holiday.

However, upon learning that "Game Era 1" was also scheduled for release during the National Day holiday, the producers and creative teams of these films all felt a sense of unease.

For those working in China's film and television industry, Wang Hao, who has never failed since his debut, is undoubtedly a towering figure that can only be looked up to.

Therefore, when faced with his work, no one has the confidence to withstand the pressure of competition.

Fortunately, they are able to console themselves. At least Wang Hao's work is scheduled for release during this National Day holiday, so he can rely on his fame and appeal to boost the overall box office volume during the National Day holiday.

If the cake gets big, maybe they can get some scraps too.

Soon after, more materials about "Game Era" were released.

First, Gao Weiguang plays the male lead Xia Feng, then Dilraba Dilmurat plays the female lead Qi Danyun, who has a slightly exotic style, followed by several important supporting characters, all of whom make their appearances.

The male and female leads are the most eye-catching.

Especially after the trailer was released, when Gao Weiguang was seen fighting in the arena with his upper body exposed, his tall stature and the muscles he had built up under the guidance of professionals over nearly half a year made him exude masculine charm, surpassing all the so-called delicate male idols of today.

As for Dilraba, her dashing figure in the trailer, dressed in a fiery red ethnic costume and wielding a curved sword while galloping on horseback, left a deep impression on many people.

After watching the trailer, everyone is even more excited for the movie "Game Era".

The deserts, sandstorms, ghost cities, gladiatorial combats, and military formations have never appeared in Wang Hao's films before. Combined with the original novel, many people are very curious about how Wang Hao will tell this story of shuttling between two worlds.

However, before the film's official release, there was another grand event in the entertainment industry: the 35th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films, held in Zhengzhou, Henan on September 26.

In fact, as China's three major film awards, the Golden Rooster Awards, the Hundred Flowers Awards, and the Huabiao Awards have all seen their influence in China decline year by year.

In the past, people might have paid attention to it, but nowadays, people are only doing it out of respect for the authorities. These so-called professional awards are increasingly losing the recognition of the audience.

After all, if an award cannot be fair and impartial and is decided based on personal connections or seniority, it will inevitably damage its credibility.

In contrast, moviegoers are even more willing to trust actor ratings on good production websites.

At least that thing is genuinely linked to the actor's commercial value and box office performance.

Although the influence has decreased, the higher authorities and various associations still need to organize it, and people in the industry can't afford to be disrespectful.

After all, even Wang Hao now holds positions in the Directors Guild and the Film Association, with his business card bearing the title of vice president of a certain association.

Moreover, in terms of background, no one in the industry can compare to him, so at the 35th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films, their company's works and artists all won awards.

Therefore, on the day of the film festival, he and the main creators of "Game Era" walked the red carpet of the Hundred Flowers Awards. In addition, the main creators of the films "The Martian", "Detective Chinatown 1900" and "Operation Red Sea" also came to the scene as nominees.

As for the final result, Galaxy Pictures may not be the biggest winner, but it's not far off.

The Best Feature Film award went to "My People, My Country," the Outstanding Feature Film award went to "Operation Red Sea," and the Best Director award went to Wang Hao, which is undoubtedly a no-brainer.

As for Best Actor, Liu Ye is undoubtedly deserving of the award thanks to his superb solo performance in "The Martian".

After winning these important awards, it was impossible for Xinghe Pictures to sweep all the awards at the Hundred Flowers Awards. Therefore, Zhou Dongyu won Best Actress for her role as Chen Nian in "Better Days", Yuan Quan won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "The Captain", and Wang Luoyong won Best Supporting Actor for his role in "My People, My Country".

In addition, Liu Haoran, the male lead of Xinghe Pictures' "Detective Chinatown 1900", won the Best Newcomer award, edging out Yi Yangqianxi for his role as Qin Fu.

It can be said that Xinghe Pictures has gained a lot from this year's Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films, and it is well-deserved.

At least during the awards ceremony live stream, the viewers in the live chat didn't have many objections. The only discordant point was when Yi Yangqianxi lost the Best Newcomer award, many of his fans expressed their indignation on his behalf.

However, after the winners were announced, most movie fans and the general public still approved of the result.

In addition, Wang Hao and the cast of "Game Era" walking the red carpet also brought a final wave of traffic to the film.

When the Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films were announced, "Game Era" had already begun advance screenings in major cities.

These preview screenings are often sold out, but for promotional purposes, Galaxy Pictures has also allocated a lot of preview screening tickets and invited many media film critics.

According to the invited media and film critics, Wang Hao's "Game Era" is indeed the most unique of all his works, and the quality of the film is also excellent. If it doesn't surpass all of Wang Hao's previous works, it is certainly in the top tier.

Influenced by its high reputation, the number of "want to watch" for "Game Era" across all platforms has exceeded 70.

On October 1st, when "Game Era" was officially released, even though the current environment had not been completely relaxed and people were still somewhat worried, the theaters did not sell out all the seats in the screening rooms due to the high density of people. On its opening day, the film grossed an astonishing 640 million yuan (including previews), breaking its own previous record for the highest single-day box office.

(End of this chapter)