I really don't want to be the top streamer anymore

The day before New Year’s Eve, Xu Kong also visited Fengge’s film and television department.

The post-production of Infernal Affairs is almost complete.

However, since the release date will definitely have to wait until "Operation Red Sea" is finished, there is no need to rush.

Of course, during the Spring Festival, post-production editing and other activities will still be holidays as usual.

Of course, the entire Fengge is not completely deserted.

For example, Yan Rui, the department manager, is still there.

Although today is already a holiday.

But he does have a lot of things to do, and he will probably have to work overtime during the day tomorrow.

……

It is mainly related to four new dramas in overseas markets.

Although the crew has taken a temporary break, they are still in the preparation stage for filming.

However, for some subsequent matters concerning specific shooting, casting, etc., he will still be needed to help with advance investigation.

Of course, not taking holidays is a common occurrence in the entertainment industry.

Especially the many various parties, performances and the like.

The artists will participate, and the rest of the people in the artist team, such as assistants, agents, etc., will definitely need to follow.

In comparison, Xu Kong's current fame and popularity is so great that he even had to take a holiday during the Spring Festival.

It is indeed unique in the entire circle.

……

On New Year's Eve, Xu Kong picked up a lot of things.

In fact, it seems that the Song family is not lacking in these.

However, you still need to have the proper attitude and courtesy.

Song Fuquan seemed to be in better spirits, perhaps because he had found love again.

The same goes for Lin Hong, who rarely looks kind and benevolent.

He no longer has a stern face like before.

……

"Mr. Song, Sister Hong."

Xu Kong greeted the two of them.

"Youyou hasn't woken up yet, she's still sleeping in."

"You sit down for a while first."

Song Fuquan said with a smile.

Xu Kong naturally nodded in agreement stiffly.

Although now he is qualified to have an equal dialogue with Song Fuquan.

But after all, the other party is Youyou's father, so Xu Kong still maintains his attitude as a junior.

……

"What is your box office forecast for Operation Red Sea?"

Although it’s New Year’s Day, it’s not a good idea to talk about business.

But after all, both of them are Fengge's boss, so it would be a bit strange for them to sit together and not talk about these things.

And Song Fuquan was indeed a little curious.

In terms of subject matter and style, "Operation Red Sea" is actually not suitable for release during the Spring Festival.

But Xu Kong insisted on putting it during the Spring Festival.

Of course Song Fuquan didn't object.

He knew that Xu Kong must have his own ideas.

Just another aspect, apart from the exact plans and arrangements.

Xu Kong has said little about his expectations for the film.

Including other competitors of the same period, they all declared that they were aiming for the Spring Festival championship.

As for "Operation Red Sea", it actually grossed about 10 billion, which was enough to recover the cost and make a small profit.

But with the momentum on the Internet today, it is obviously impossible to be that simple.

……

"As for box office expectations, I really haven't thought about it..."

"But it should be more than three billion."

Xu Kong answered.

He really hadn't thought about that.

But based on the final box office of "Operation Red Sea" in the previous life, and combined with various factors at this stage, 3 billion is a conservative estimate in Xu Kong's mind.

The most important thing is that the domestic film market in the world is currently developing much faster.

There are more than ten movies with box office revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan.

Although it can still be said to be difficult.

But this also indirectly illustrates the potential of the domestic film market at this stage.

"Operation Red Sea" is completely not on the same level as its previous version in terms of early publicity and popularity.

Even if there are variables that are different from competitors in the same period.

But the box office will most likely not be lower than that of the previous life.

……

"Oh?"

"Three billion? That means you are not sure you can win the championship of this year's Spring Festival?"

Song Fuquan asked with some surprise.

Judging from the current situation of the domestic film market in recent years, the box office champion of the Spring Festival period can at least exceed 5 billion yuan.

If Xu Kong conservatively estimated it to be 3 billion, it means he was not completely confident that he would be able to win the box office championship.

Xu Kong did not deny this.

He nodded decisively.

"In fact, there is really no absolute certainty."

“It’s mainly about the films directed by two other directors this year. It’s still unknown how they will perform.”

In the previous life, "Operation Red Sea" became the ultimate box office dark horse and successfully won the Spring Festival championship.

There is still a lot of luck involved.

In addition to the fact that its quality is indeed very good, several of its competitors from the same period have lagged behind a little.

Of course, it is impossible for Xu Kong to be sure that the same good thing will be replicated.

……

However, the reason why he still insisted on releasing the film during the Spring Festival was that he knew that as long as the quality was good enough, the subject matter of the film would not actually conflict too much with the release date.

There is also the current domestic film market, especially the Spring Festival period which has the largest traffic and audience numbers.

In reality, there is no such thing as a winner-takes-all situation.

No matter how much it is crushed, it can still get a certain box office.

Especially when the subject matter is different and there is no direct conflict between the audience groups.

According to the current publicity and popularity of "Operation Red Sea", the box office will not be greatly expanded in a short period of time.

……

"Your words have changed my opinion of you a little bit."

Song Fuquan couldn't help but say.

According to what he thought before, Xu Kong was the kind of person who wanted to be the best in everything.

Including various dramas in the past, they all absolutely dominated the same period.

And usually they are geniuses like Xu Kong.

In fact, they are all quite conceited, that is, as long as they don’t get the so-called first place, they will regard it as a failure.

But now it seems that Xu Kong's mentality is better than many people think.

Even before the results came out, Xu Kong himself had already accepted the fact that he did not win the Spring Festival box office championship.

Song Fuquan was quite happy about this.

Although perhaps the Spring Festival champion can bring more profits.

But in comparison, as Xu Kong is the absolute core of the entire Fengge, as long as there is no problem with himself, that is much more important than the so-called short-term interests.

……

"According to what you said, you didn't expect those overseas dramas to become big hits?"

Linhong, who was originally busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner, stayed to listen after Song Fuquan asked the question.

At this time, he asked with some curiosity.

Faced with such a question, Xu Kong gave a very direct answer this time:

"That's not the case. I wrote the scripts for those dramas based on the requirements of hits."

Xu Kong is very confident about this.

The main reason is that "Operation Red Sea" itself is indeed somewhat special.

But for phenomenal dramas like "Reply 1988" or "Stranger Things", Xu Kong is still very confident that they can become a hit as long as they can maintain the final quality of the film. …

Hearing such an answer, Lin Hong was also a little surprised.

How come both scripts were written by Xu Kong, so why does he have different expectations for them?

Like... being able to predict the so-called final market feedback.

This is really a bit incomprehensible.

Of course, Lin Hong also knew that the thought processes of geniuses were generally not understandable to ordinary people.

So I just nodded and didn't say much.

However, if Xu Kong knew what she was thinking, he would probably just answer:

Isn't it because he has concrete examples that he can make such specific predictions?

……

"Brother Xu Kong!"

Youyou, who was still sleepy and hadn't even washed up, came downstairs. When she saw Xu Kong, she couldn't hide the happiness in her tone.

If it weren’t for Song Fuquan and Lin Hong.

I guess she had already thrown herself into Xu Kong's arms at this moment.

However, Lin Hong couldn't help but remind him:
"Go wash up first, Youyou!"

I have to say that as an artist, Youyou doesn't pay enough attention to image management.

Even if he is Xu Kong, he is just an outsider now, so he has to at least maintain a decent appearance.

But she didn't know that, compared to that, there were many people who looked even more embarrassed.

Although the reason why he became so embarrassed was closely related to himself.

But at least strictly speaking, Youyou and I are an old couple.

Of course I don't care about these.

……

"By the way, I heard that your new movie is almost finished with post-production?"

Although Song Fuquan still maintains his status as a hands-off boss.

But in fact, he knows the current situation within the company better than anyone else.

Xu Kong nodded.

"Originally, Mr. Cao from Fengxiang Pictures planned to release the film during the Spring Festival, but I told him that our company has a movie released after that."

“So the final release date was temporarily postponed.”

“So there was no rush in post-production.”

According to the progress, if Xu Kongxiang had his way, the post-production of "Infernal Affairs" would most likely have been completed earlier.

It is also possible to release it during the Spring Festival.

However, since there was no plan to release it in such a hurry, Xu Kong did not make any special effort to rush the schedule.

It can almost be said that the post-production editing was completed in a half-hearted manner.

……

"That's good too."

"Otherwise, even though it is a movie invested by Fengxiang Pictures, it would be like you fighting with your left hand during the Spring Festival."

Song Fuquan nodded and said.

He knew that Xu Kong was going to Fengxiang Pictures to make a movie.

It is also clear that this must be due to Xu Kong's own personal considerations.

Although given the current relationship between Xu Kong and Feng Ge, every work should be invested by Feng Ge himself.

But he himself also agreed with Xu Kong's behavior.

After all, in a place like the entertainment industry, friends are much more important than enemies.

What he was most worried about was that Xu Kong was a completely conceited person, and that he was in a confrontational attitude towards almost all of his peers in the entertainment industry.

Although it is possible that Xu Kong really has such ability.

But it’s certainly not a good thing.

In addition to the work itself, the social skills in the entertainment industry are also very important.

But now it seems that Xu Kong has accumulated his own connections and network.

Including big companies like Fengxiang Pictures in Hong Kong, as well as Mango TV in the mainland.

……

Lin Hong went to prepare breakfast, no, it should be lunch.

Xu Kong came here at ten o'clock, and now it is almost twelve o'clock noon.

Song Fuquan was chatting with him seemingly casually, but he basically covered the entire Fengge situation at this stage.

It was as if he was deliberately testing Xu Kong, the vice president.

However, as long as he didn't talk about personal matters with Youyou, he didn't feel any pressure at all when it came to work.

Although Song Fuquan has different ideas from Xu Kong on many things.

But they also expressed their support.

For example, the directors of the four new drama projects planned overseas were all selected by Xu Kong from his original crew.

In Song Fuquan's opinion, it was a bit too risky.

A more prudent approach would be to let some experienced directors within the company take charge.

However, he could also understand that Xu Kong had his own criteria for judging a director's ability.

The reason I chose these directors from my crew is simply because I know them better.

Of course, what he didn't know was that the most important, or even the only, point of Xu Kong's so-called standard was to be obedient.

Although it is a bit too much to treat the director as a tool.

But Xu Kong actually did so in his specific plan.

The main purpose is to remove most of the interference factors.

The quality of the finished film can at least maintain the level of the original drama.

In this way, we can ensure that the market feedback will be the same as in the previous life.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the director is not allowed to have any room to perform. Xu Kong himself also needs to spend time to make some adaptations.

But you definitely can't start arguing with him or going against him halfway through the shoot.

Xu Kong could not guarantee that such a situation would not occur to Feng Ge’s so-called veteran directors.

Therefore, the best way is to use the people from your own crew team.

……

"time to eat!"

Linhong, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen carrying dishes.

I have to say that Lin Hong, who is usually a strong woman, really has the temperament of a good wife and mother at this time.

Of course, Xu Kong would not be confused and act too relaxed.

He knew clearly that Lin Hong was the one who was really on guard against him and Song Youyou.

So Xu Kong very sensibly started to help serve the dishes, picking up the bowls and chopsticks and so on.

When Song Youyou saw Xu Kong at this moment, she couldn't help but want to laugh.

After being secretly given a look by Xu Kong, she laughed even more happily.

After all, it is rare to see this side of Xu Kong.

……

After dinner, they chatted for a while.

Soon Song Fuquan went to take a nap.

Lin Hong did not have such a habit and prepared the New Year's Eve dinner in advance.

The ingredients and other things had been bought in advance. Xu Kong originally planned to help, but was driven out by the other party.

I could only sit on the sofa and watch TV with Youyou.

"Brother Xu Kong, do you want to visit my room?"

Xu Kong was stunned for a moment, mainly because it was the other person's room, which he had been to before.

He had come more than once when Song Fuquan was not at home.

But soon, he realized the hidden meaning behind Youyou's words.

The main thing is that this girl, at some point in time, quietly reached out her hand and gave him the Grip of Undying.

Xu Kong shook his head decisively.

Song Youyou has been bold for a long time.

But he still wanted to continue living. His father-in-law and mother-in-law were both there. Even though Xu Kong's body gave honest feedback, he finally had no choice but to follow his heart.

When she saw that Xu Kong was still so timid, Youyou couldn't help but laugh.

At the same time, the hand that was able to be grasped originally was now gradually becoming uncontrollable.

Fortunately, Xu Kong stopped it in time. He even suspected that if he hadn't stopped it in time, with Youyou's courage, she might have gone even further.

...(End of chapter)