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

Xu Kong promptly killed the other party's plan to shoot a sequel to "Operation Red Sea".

In fact, Guo Jiayu couldn’t quite understand it.

Judging from the box office performance of "Operation Red Sea" and the popularity of military films it has brought, it is definitely a very high-quality IP.

Such a movie, even if it is just for commercial considerations, cannot be abandoned after being used once.

And Xu Kong's reaction just now was so big that it was obvious that he thought there would definitely be problems with the sequel.

But he just mentioned it briefly, so how did Xu Kong know that the sequel would not be good?
……

Of course Xu Kong had no way to explain it.

In fact, it was precisely because he personally witnessed the failure of the second part of the previous life that he was so determined not to make a sequel.

Even if a new script is written, it will only continue the so-called original IP name and style.

There is no need to take risks.

After all, when it comes to scripts, the thing Xu Kong has the most is scripts.

Of course, in reality the failure of the second part was caused by various factors.

There were issues with the quality of the film, as well as a failed promotional strategy before its release, which had a huge impact.

But no matter what, even if he could avoid these, Xu Kong was not stubborn enough to try it.

……

"Don't worry, although there are no plans to shoot a second part, I already have ideas for Director Guo's next movie script."

After Xu Kong refused, he naturally still needed comfort.

Sure enough, after hearing Xu Kong say that there was news about the new script, Guo Jiayu immediately forgot about his plan to continue filming the second part.

Instead, he couldn't wait to ask:
"Director Xu, can you tell me briefly first?"

"I'm so ready..."

Xu Kong looked at the other person helplessly.

"Operation Red Sea" has only been released for exactly one week.

Even if she really wants to make a new movie, Guo Jiayu should not be in a hurry.

But judging from the other party's appearance, it was obvious that if he didn't reveal a little bit today, he would probably not be able to drive him away.

……

"There are currently two prototypes of the script, one of which is from the 1970s."

"The other one is a story set in the last days of the late Qing Dynasty."

"Both scripts should be about war themes, which is what you are good at, but the first one may have more literary drama..."

After hearing Xu Kong's words, Guo Jiayu became a little hesitant.

Because of the two scripts, after listening to Xu Kong's description, I wanted to shoot both of them.

"Don't worry, if you're interested, we can shoot both."

"But we still need to choose an order, right?"

After hearing this, Guo Jiayu immediately felt relieved.

Then he said very cleverly:
"Then Director Xu, which one do you think I should choose?"

I have to say that it was a very good idea for Guo Jiayu to give the final decision-making power to Xu Kong.

After all, he hasn't read the specific script yet.

In comparison, the only person who understands it may be Xu Kong himself.

Let the other person make the choice for him.

On the contrary, it is the most suitable.

……

"Then let's do the second one."

"I'll give you the script in two days."

Xu Kong spoke.

In fact, the shooting difficulty of both films is not low.

Especially the literary parts are quite exquisite.

Most importantly, there may be more adaptations that need to be made and some aspects that depend on the director's personal ability than in "Operation Red Sea".

Guo Jiayu is indeed very good at filming war scenes, and her abilities in various martial arts scenes are almost the strongest in the industry.

But the literary drama still needs more polishing.

However, Xu Kong felt that Guo Jiayu was obviously underestimated.

Looking at some of the other party’s previous works, it can be seen that the ideas are very good.

But what is lacking is an excellent script and proper guidance.

Although Xu Kong was not arrogant enough to think that he could definitely do it, it was not impossible for him to give it a try.

After all, even the big domestic directors today have reached their positions through gradual accumulation, haven’t they?
……

"Thank you Director Xu!"

Guo Jiayu was really touched.

At the same time, he was determined to always hold on to Xu Kong's support.

In fact, in the outside world, Xu Kong only provided the script of "Operation Red Sea".

But many of the war scenes in the film were completed independently by him.

The fact is that the script provided by Xu Kong is completely different from the scripts that everyone traditionally thinks of.

Storyboards for various key scenes, as well as related analyses that are extremely detailed.

It's like a textbook on how you should shoot this movie.

Otherwise, she thought that if she could do it all by herself.

It definitely could not reach the level of completion of today's films.

……

After seeing Guo Jiayu off, Xu Kong was bored and started writing the script.

There is no way, he has now officially entered the vacation stage.

Although it is only the first day of work after the New Year, it is estimated that "Infernal Affairs" will be completely completed in some time.

Even during this period of time, he himself no longer needed to keep an eye on it the whole time.

Because the most important editing has been completed.

After that comes some finishing work such as related subtitles, opening and ending credits, etc.

All I can say is that he had always been thinking about having a good rest, but when he really had some free time, he was a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Feng Ge has enough film and television projects this year, and he is a very important producer in all of them.

From time to time, I would go to the scene to give guidance to several directors, exchange ideas and share my own ideas.

It's a way to kill time.

……

"Sister Yu, why are you late on the first day of work?"

Xu Kong saw that Zhu Yu didn't come to the company until almost noon.

I couldn't help but make a joke.

Zhu Yu rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

Who is to blame for this? Don’t you know what’s going on?

Xu Kong stayed overnight at her house yesterday.

As a result, of course, I had to take this morning off.

Of course, although there were only two of them in the office, Zhu Yu still didn't feel comfortable expressing her complaints.

……

"By the way, is 'King of Masked Singer' going to be back on air this week?"

Xu Kong thought of something and asked.

In fact, strictly speaking, this show has nothing to do with Feng Ge.

After all, none of Fengge’s artists attended.

But now because of Xu Kong, although it is Fengqing Entertainment’s business, Zhu Yu will also help keep an eye on it.

"Yeah, and it's already in the final few issues."

"I guess the singers on the show will start to unveil their faces one after another."

Zhu Yu replied.

The contestants in "King of Masked Singer" are now quite popular.

Except for singers like Su Yuwei whose identities have been guessed.

There are others who have earned enough traffic by releasing hit singles, but no one knows their real identities.

When it comes to the official unveiling stage, all the previous traffic and other things will explode all at once.

That will be the time to officially reap the popularity of this show. …

"By the way, there's an invitation from Tomato TV."

"We are planning to invite you to participate in their music talent show as a mentor."

"I heard that the program has a huge investment and the lineup is also very luxurious. The four mentors are planning to invite the best singers."

Zhu Yu remembered something and showed Xu Feng the invitation email she had just received.

"Forget it, just reject it."

Xu Kong didn't think much about it and answered directly.

It can be seen that Tomato TV thought that Xu Kong had participated in their Spring Festival Gala before.

So the two sides have already established a partnership.

It was natural to plan to invite Xu Kong to participate.

However, for Xu Kong, although he is on vacation now, he has nothing to do.

But I don’t really want to participate in this kind of variety show.

The main reason is that he had too many such experiences in his previous life.

So now that I have the right to choose, of course I don’t want to repeat the old path.

Maybe in his previous life, he was a mentor and was the one who was scolded.

Similar situations will not continue in this life, but Xu Kong also thinks that for him now, apart from the appearance fee, it is a complete waste of time.

What's more, Feng Ge has now passed the difficult period of starting over last year.

Even at that time, Xu Kong had never thought about making such quick money, and now it was even more unnecessary.

……

"You may not know this, but Tomato TV has even started using you for promotion."

“Although it’s gossip, if they didn’t release it themselves, how could those marketing accounts know about it?”

Zhu Yu spoke somewhat helplessly.

Xu Kong didn't care.

"It's okay. I don't mind being ripped off like this."

Tomato Channel obviously tasted the sweetness of Xu Kong's current terrifying popularity during the last Spring Festival Gala.

So I'm thinking of remaking it this time.

Or, they themselves might not have thought of inviting Xu Kong.

It's nothing more than relying on such so-called gossip to increase the corresponding attention to their own programs.

Xu Kong didn't care about this.

Anyway, when the audience finds out they have been cheated, they won’t be the ones to blame him.

As for taking the initiative to clarify.

There is no need for that.

Although our relationship is not very good, we have worked together before.

This is too serious and is not advisable in the entertainment industry, where personal relationships are very important.

In fact, up to now, Xu Kong has never thought about making enemies deliberately.

If it was just a small matter like this, he certainly wouldn't care.

……

At this time, at Tomato TV, Kang Zhishan, the deputy director, was not surprised at all when he heard the news that Xu Kong had declined.

Of course, he wanted his relationship with Xu Kong to be as level as Wu Youxue's.

But just think about it and you will know that it is impossible.

After all, Wu Youxue is really lucky. He took the initiative to help Xu Kong before Xu Kong officially rose to prominence.

An olive branch has been extended.

In this regard, Wu Youxue may be unique in the entire entertainment industry.

There are many artists who have received his help and became very famous.

As for those that didn’t become popular, there are even more.

Therefore, Wu Youxue’s network of contacts is quite exaggerated.

It can be said that relying on his advantage in variety shows, Wu Youxue has established his own network of relationships.

Only in this way can Mango TV occupy the position of the leader of local TV stations for a long time.

Otherwise, how could Mango be completely helpless against Wu Youxue?

Without him, the entire Mango TV system would not be able to maintain its position.

……

"Director Kang, does our previous list of invited guests still count?"

The director asked tentatively.

In fact, what he had thought before was that if Xu Kong came to participate as a mentor, then his new music show would be a success.

With Xu Kong's traffic and popularity alone, there is no way the show will fail.

But Xu Kong is not coming, what if the other singers on the list are cancelled?

Then the show really changed completely.

"Don't worry, the guests' budget is there."

"We will definitely contact everyone on the invitation list."

Kang Zhishan gave his director a reassurance.

Tomato TV attaches great importance to this new music variety show.

Although Xu Kong might not come.

But now that the "rumors" have been released, the lineup must be stronger.

Otherwise, the audience will not buy it and will definitely start scolding.

……

"But I may not have any hope of becoming a mentor, but it should be okay to be a guest..."

Kang Zhishan couldn't help but think about it.

There is no way, I can’t let go of Xu Kong.

He also thought that his cooperation with Xu Kong during the previous Spring Festival Gala was quite pleasant.

There had been some misunderstandings before.

But now we are partners anyway.

If anyone knew what Kang Zhishan was thinking at this moment, they would be subconsciously surprised.

After all, Tomato TV is one of the three major local TV stations, how could it have ever been so humble?

The most crucial thing is Kang Zhishan, who is considered by many to have the worst temper and the most stringent requirements for the artists he works with.

……

The first week box office of "Operation Red Sea" has been released, reaching 2.5 billion.

It still maintains its position as the single-day box office champion.

According to the current situation, even without the secret key to postpone the release, the final box office is estimated to exceed 5 billion.

In fact, compared with the current domestic Spring Festival period, this result is not particularly exaggerated.

The main reason is that even with the added popularity of Xu Kong, "Operation Red Sea" has not reached the level of a phenomenal hit that can completely blow away all the movies of the same period.

In the past, those movies with box office revenue of over 10 billion yuan were almost all released during the Spring Festival.

It has absorbed all the audience and popularity of other movies released at the same time.

The screening schedule can even reach over 70 percent.

Although "Operation Red Sea" now has the highest share of 38% during the Spring Festival, it is still far from comparable.

……

The success of "Operation Red Sea" can be regarded as a continuation of Xu Kong's undefeated myth.

In fact, the audience also wants to know when Xu Kong will fail.

Whether it is the reputation of the work or the commercial aspect.

The main thing is that no director or actor can guarantee that every one of their works will be successful.

Some so-called superstars have also made quite a few bad movies.

However, apart from a small number of viewers with curious ideas, the ones who actually hope Xu Kong will fail the most are his peers.

There is no way, the threat is just too great.

Especially the success of "Operation Red Sea" this time, it proves that Xu Kong can achieve the so-called dominance not only in the TV drama market, but also in the movie market.

Moreover, Xu Kong is still so young. If this continues, won’t everyone have to live under his shadow in the future?

...(End of chapter)